Senate Approves Electronic Transmission of Election Results in Amended Electoral Act
The Nigerian Senate on Tuesday approved the electronic transmission of election results after amending Section 60 of the Electoral Act, allowing presiding officers at polling units to upload results directly to the Independent National Electoral Commission Results Viewing Portal.
The decision was taken during an emergency plenary session chaired by Senate President Godswill Akpabio.
Explaining the new process, Akpabio said, “The presiding officer shall electronically transmit the results from each polling unit to the IREV portal after Form EC8A has been signed and stamped by the presiding officer, and/or countersigned by the candidates or polling agents where available at the polling units.”
He added that the move is aimed at strengthening transparency in Nigeria’s electoral process through electronic transmission of election results.
Akpabio also clarified what would happen if technical challenges occur during electronic transmission of election results.
“Provided that if the electronic transmission of the results fails as a result of communication failure, the manually signed and stamped Form EC8A shall be the primary source of collation and declaration of results,” Akpabio stated.
The amendment, now approved as Clause 60(3), followed a motion by Senate Chief Whip Mohammed Monguno, who sought to reverse the Senate’s earlier rejection of real-time electronic transmission. The Senate had previously retained provisions of the 2023 Electoral Act that limited electronic transmission of election results.
With the new amendment, presiding officers are empowered to transmit results electronically where technology permits, while the signed Form EC8A will serve as the authoritative document in cases of network failure. Lawmakers said this balanced approach would improve credibility while addressing possible technical setbacks.
The passage of the amendment sparked debate on the Senate floor, with Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe initially calling for a division on the matter before later withdrawing his request.
The development has been welcomed by many observers who believe electronic transmission of election results will boost public confidence in future polls.
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