The Senate on Wednesday rejected a proposed amendment to the Electoral Amendment Bill 2026 that would have made the electronic transmission of election results from polling units mandatory, a decision that has renewed concerns over the credibility of future elections in Nigeria.
The amendment, which sought to alter Clause 60, Subsection 3 of the bill, aimed to compel presiding officers of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to transmit results electronically from each polling unit to the INEC Result Viewing (IREV) portal in real time.
Under the rejected proposal, results were to be uploaded only after Form EC8A had been completed, signed, and stamped by the presiding officer, and countersigned by party agents at the polling unit, a process widely viewed as a safeguard against manipulation.
Instead, lawmakers opted to retain the existing provision of the Electoral Act, 2022, which states that “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.”
The Senate’s decision followed an amendment moved by Senator Tahir Monguno (APC, Borno), who proposed that the provision mandating electronic transmission be removed while the original wording of the law be maintained.
The move has sparked debate among election observers and civil society groups, many of whom argue that compulsory electronic transmission remains central to strengthening transparency and restoring public confidence in the electoral process.
