The Senate on Tuesday approved the electronic transmission of election results to the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) Result Viewing Portal (IReV), while allowing manual collation as a contingency measure in the event of technological failure.
The decision followed a reconsideration of a contentious clause in the Electoral Act Amendment Bill during an emergency plenary session.
The upper chamber, however, stopped short of mandating electronic transmission as the sole mode of result collation and rejected provisions requiring real-time upload of polling unit results.
Under the amended clause, presiding officers at polling units are required to electronically transmit results to the IReV portal after completing voting procedures and documentation.
The legislation further provides that where electronic transmission is hampered by communication or network challenges, the manually completed result sheet (Form EC8A) will serve as the primary document for collation and declaration of results.
Presiding over the session, Senate President Godswill Akpabio called for a voice vote on the amendment and urged dissenting lawmakers to formally challenge the decision.
“It’s very simple. If you disagree with him, move your counter motion. So, if you agree with him, you agree with me when I put the votes,” Akpabio said.
He explained that the motion before the chamber sought to reverse an earlier Senate resolution on Section 60, Subsection 3 of the Electoral Act.
“When I ask for the votes, when I ask for your consent, let me read the motion. His earlier motion, which passed in our last sitting, he has sought to rescind that. That is in respect of Section 60, Subsection 3,” he stated.
Reading the revised provision, Akpabio said presiding officers would transmit results electronically after Form EC8A has been signed and stamped, and where available, countersigned by polling agents.
He added that the amendment accounts for scenarios where electronic transmission is impossible due to network or communication failures.
“Provided that if the electronic transmission of the results fails… the Form EC8A shall in such a case be the primary source of collation and declaration of results,” he said.
The decision has sparked concerns among civil society organisations and opposition stakeholders, who argue that permitting manual results to override electronic uploads could undermine transparency and create opportunities for manipulation, particularly in areas with poor network coverage.
