The Senate on Tuesday revised Section 60 of the Electoral Act, approving a framework that allows the electronic transmission of election results, with a manual option as backup.
The decision was taken during an emergency plenary session, where Senate President Godswill Akpabio outlined the procedures governing the new results transmission process.
Under the amendment, presiding officers at polling units are required to electronically transmit results to the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) Result Viewing Portal (IREV) after Form EC8A has been completed, signed, and stamped.
Akpabio explained that polling agents or candidates may countersign the result sheet where available before transmission.
However, the Senate also approved a fallback mechanism to address possible technical failures.
According to Akpabio, where electronic transmission fails due to network or communication challenges, the manually signed and stamped Form EC8A will serve as the primary document for collation and declaration of results.
The amendment, passed as Clause 60(3), followed a motion moved by Senate Chief Whip Mohammed Monguno, who sought to reverse the Senate’s earlier position against real-time electronic transmission.
Previously, the Senate had retained provisions of the 2023 Electoral Act, which restricted electronic transmission of results.
With the new amendment, presiding officers may transmit results electronically where technology permits, but in cases of technical failure, the signed physical result sheet remains the authoritative source for announcing results.
The decision triggered debate on the Senate floor.
Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe initially called for a formal division on the matter but later withdrew his request, allowing the amendment to pass.
