The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has declined to comment on the controversy trailing the amendment of the Electoral Act 2022 by the senate, particularly the clause on real-time transmission of election results.
The controversy over the amendment of the act started on February 4 after the senate passed the amendment bill after a five-hour clause-by-clause deliberation.
One of the amendments reduced the timeline for INEC to publish a notice of election from 360 days to 180 days.
The senate also ruled out real-time transmission of election results and retained the provision for electronic transfer of results as provided for in the Electoral Act 2022.
At the centre of the controversy is clause 60(3) of the amendment bill.
The proposed amendment reads: “The presiding officer shall electronically transmit the results from each polling unit to the IREV portal in real time, and such transmission shall be done after the prescribed Form EC8A has been signed and stamped by the presiding officer and/or countersigned by the candidates or polling unit agents, where available at the polling unit”.
This amendment intends to make electronic transmission compulsory, ensure it is in real-time, and link the same directly to IReV. In other words, it would have changed electronic transmission from a discretionary exercise into a legal duty.
But the senate rejected this proposal. Instead, it adopted section 60(5) of the existing Electoral Act 2022, which says: “The presiding officer shall transfer the results, including the total number of accredited voters and the results of the ballot, in a manner as prescribed by the Commission”.
On February 9, civil society organisations organised a protest at the national assembly complex over the rejection of the clause of electronic transmission of election results by the senate.
Peter Obi, presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the 2023 election, led a group of protesters for the first day of the protest.
On the second day, Rotimi Amaechi, former governor of Rivers state and ex-minister of transportation, joined the protest.
Amid the controversy, the senate scheduled an emergency plenary sitting for Tuesday, February 10.
Unlike the senate, the house of representatives adopted the clause mandating real-time transmission of results.
The U-turn
During Tuesday’s emergency plenary, the senate approved the electronic transmission of election results to the INEC result viewing portal (IReV), while allowing manual collation to serve as a fallback where technology fails.
The amendment was introduced through a motion sponsored by Tahir Monguno, senator representing Borno north.
Monguno said further scrutiny of clause 60(3) of the Electoral Act (Repeal and Enactment) Bill 2026 had revealed the need for adjustments to prevent disputes and operational setbacks during elections.
Monguno proposed that presiding officers at polling units be permitted to transmit results electronically to the IReV portal after form EC8A has been duly completed, signed and stamped.
The motion was seconded by Abba Moro, senate minority leader, who supported the view that electoral laws must reflect both transparency objectives and the infrastructural realities across the country.
Following brief deliberations, Godswill Akpabio, the senate president, put the amendment to a voice vote, with the “ayes” prevailing.
The senate and the house of representatives are expected to harmonise the different amendments.
INEC Comment
TheCable reached out to Adedayo Oketola, chief press secretary to Joash Amupitan, chairman of the INEC, on comments over the controversy surrounding the electoral act amendment and whether the commission has the technical capacity for real-time electronic transmission of election results.
Oketola said since the amendment of the legislation is an ongoing process, the commission will not make a comment until it is finalised.
“The amendment of the Electoral Act 2022 is still an ongoing process. Let’s wait for it to be finalised. We can’t comment on this now,” he said
