In a landmark decision, the Nigerian Senate has amended Section 60 of the Electoral Act to allow presiding officers at polling units to electronically transmit election results to the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) Results Viewing Portal (IREV), while retaining manual collation as a backup.
The amendment was passed during an emergency plenary session, with Senate President Godswill Akpabio outlining the procedures for the new system.
“The presiding officer shall electronically transmit the results from each polling unit to the IREV portal after Form EC8A has been signed and stamped by the presiding officer, and/or countersigned by the candidates or polling agents where available,” Akpabio said.
He also clarified the contingency plan in case of Network failures: “If electronic transmission fails due to communication issues, the manually signed and stamped Form EC8A shall serve as the primary source for collation and declaration of results.”
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The amendment, introduced as Clause 60(3), comes after Senate Chief Whip Mohammed Monguno moved to reverse the chamber’s previous rejection of real-time electronic transmission.
The Senate had earlier maintained provisions of the 2023 Electoral Act, which limited electronic reporting of results.
The new law allows results to be transmitted electronically wherever technology permits, but ensures the signed Form EC8A remains the authoritative document in the event of technical problems.
The decision sparked debate on the Senate floor. Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe initially called for a vote by division but later withdrew the request.
Observers say the move is a compromise aimed at modernizing the electoral process while safeguarding the credibility of election results.
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