The Senate has approved the electronic transmission of election results to the Independent National Electoral Commission’s Result Viewing Portal (IReV), while also allowing manual collation as a fallback in cases where technology fails.
The approval followed a review of a controversial clause in the Electoral Act Amendment Bill during an emergency plenary session held on Tuesday.
However, lawmakers stopped short of making electronic transmission mandatory and rejected a proposal for real-time uploading of results.
Under the revised provision, presiding officers at polling units are required to electronically transmit results to the IReV portal after voting and all documentation have been completed.
The amendment further states that where electronic transmission is not possible due to network or communication challenges, the manual result sheet, Form EC8A, will serve as the primary basis for collation and declaration.
While putting the motion to a voice vote, Senate President Godswill Akpabio urged senators opposed to the amendment to formally challenge it through a counter-motion.
He explained that the motion sought to reverse an earlier Senate decision on Section 60, Subsection 3 of the Electoral Act. Reading out the amended clause, Akpabio said presiding officers must electronically transmit results from each polling unit to the IReV portal after Form EC8A has been signed and stamped, and countersigned by candidates or polling agents where available.
Akpabio added that the provision also accommodates situations where electronic transmission fails, noting that in such cases, the manually completed Form EC8A would become the primary source for collation and declaration of results.
The amendment has drawn criticism from civil society groups and opposition figures, who warn that allowing manual results to override electronically transmitted ones could undermine transparency and open the door to manipulation, particularly in areas with poor network coverage.
