In a significant move, the Senate has approved the electronic transmission of election results to the Independent National Electoral Commission’s Result Viewing Portal (IReV), while retaining manual collation as a backup in the event of technological failure.
The decision came during an emergency plenary on Tuesday, following a reconsideration of a disputed clause in the Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill. However, the Senate stopped short of making electronic transmission mandatory and rejected provisions for real-time result uploads.
Under the revised law, presiding officers at polling units are required to electronically transmit results to the IReV portal only after voting concludes and all documentation, including Form EC8A, is signed and stamped by the presiding officer and, where available, countersigned by candidates or polling agents.
Importantly, the amendment allows for a fallback system: if electronic transmission is impossible due to network or communication failures, the manually completed Form EC8A will serve as the primary basis for result collation and declaration.
While moving the motion to a voice vote, Senate President Godswill Akpabio encouraged senators who opposed the amendment to formally challenge it. “If you disagree with this motion, move a counter-motion. Otherwise, your agreement will be counted when I put the votes,” he stated.
Akpabio explained that the motion aimed to reverse an earlier Senate decision on Section 60, Subsection 3 of the Electoral Act. He emphasized that the amendment accommodates situations where electronic transmission cannot be carried out.
The development has sparked debate among civil society groups and opposition figures, who caution that giving precedence to manual results in areas with poor network coverage could undermine transparency and create opportunities for manipulation.
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