The Senate, on Tuesday, rescinded its earlier decision on the Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill, where it rejected the mandatory electronic transmission of election results from polling units to the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) Result Viewing Portal (IREV).
Following the reversal, the upper chamber re-amended the Electoral Bill to accommodate the electronic transmission of election results, introducing conditions to guide its implementation.
Under the new provision, electronic transmission of results is permitted; however, where internet connectivity fails, the manually completed Form EC8A will serve as the primary source for result collation and declaration.
Despite the amendment, electronic transmission of results is not made mandatory. Instead, the provision allows for electronic transmission while retaining a fallback option in the event of network or technical challenges.
The decision was reached after the adoption of a motion moved by the Senate Chief Whip, Tahir Monguno (Borno North), during an emergency plenary session.
Presenting the motion, Monguno said the decision to rescind the Senate’s earlier rejection of electronic transmission was informed by the need to align the Electoral Act with the wishes of Nigerians.
“This amendment is to bring our laws to make it a replica of the wishes and aspirations of the people,” he said.
The motion was seconded by the Senate Minority Leader, Senator Abba Moro (Benue South).
Senate President Godswill Akpabio subsequently put the motion to a voice vote, which was overwhelmingly supported by a majority of lawmakers.
Recall that during the clause-by-clause consideration of the Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill last Wednesday, Monguno had requested that the Senate retain the provision in Clause 60 of the 2022 Electoral Act, which allows for the transmission of election results to collation centres.
With the latest amendment, the Senate has effectively acknowledged that its earlier version of the Electoral Act amendment was passed without a provision accommodating electronic transmission of election results.