The House of Representatives has approved a major amendment to the Electoral Act 2022, mandating the real-time electronic transmission of election results from polling units nationwide.
The resolution was adopted on Wednesday during a clause-by-clause consideration of a report proposing far-reaching reforms to Nigeria’s electoral framework.
Under the approved amendment, the law now provides that “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 marks a significant departure from the existing Electoral Act, which does not expressly mandate the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to transmit results electronically in real time.
Ahead of the 2023 general elections, INEC had pledged to upload polling unit results in real time using its Result Viewing (IReV) portal, a key technology introduced to enhance transparency and credibility in the electoral process.
However, the portal experienced prolonged inactivity in several areas even after voting had concluded, fuelling public suspicion and controversy over the integrity of the results.
In the aftermath, civil society organisations (CSOs) intensified pressure on the National Assembly to amend the law and make electronic transmission of results a compulsory legal requirement rather than an administrative promise.
OTHER AMENDMENTS
In further tightening electoral safeguards, lawmakers also approved an amendment prescribing a five-year jail term for presiding officers found guilty of declaring false election results.
The House equally ratified a provision making the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) the primary tool for accrediting voters during elections.
The approved clause states: “To vote, the presiding officer shall use a bimodal voter accreditation system or any other technological device that may be prescribed by the commission for the accreditation of voters to verify, confirm or authenticate the particulars of the intending voter in the manner prescribed by the commission.”
It further provides that: “Where a bimodal voter accreditation system or any other technological device deployed for accreditation of voters fails to function in any unit and a fresh BVAS or technological device is not deployed, the election in that unit shall be cancelled and another election shall be scheduled within 24 hours if the commission is satisfied that the result of the election in that polling unit will substantially affect the final result of the whole election and declaration of a winner in the constituency concerned.”
After considering more than 70 clauses in the proposed amendment, the House adjourned plenary, with lawmakers expected to reconvene on Thursday to continue deliberations on the report.
