President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, has clarified that the Senate did not reject the electronic transmission of election results but rather retained the existing provisions contained in the Electoral Act 2022.
Akpabio made the clarification on Saturday in Abuja while speaking at the launch of a book examining the responsibilities and challenges faced by legislators in Nigeria. He explained that while electronic transmission of results remains permissible under the law, lawmakers agreed to remove the phrase “real-time” from the provision to avoid potential legal and technical complications.
According to the Senate President, mandating real-time transmission could expose electoral processes to disputes in situations where network failures or technical disruptions occur. He noted that such circumstances could create grounds for litigation, potentially undermining the credibility of election outcomes.
Akpabio further stated that the decision was aimed at granting the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) the operational flexibility to determine the most appropriate method for transmitting election results, particularly in view of prevailing technological and security realities across the country. He reaffirmed the Senate’s commitment to enacting legislation that reflects the interests and aspirations of Nigerians.
Reacting to the development, former Senate President David Mark maintained that the responsibility for determining the mode of result transmission should rest with INEC. Mark, who spoke in his capacity as a member of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), reiterated the party’s support for the electronic transmission of election results as a measure to strengthen transparency and public confidence in the electoral process.
Public debate intensified following the Senate’s passage of the Electoral Act 2022 (Repeal and Reenactment) Amendment Bill 2026 through third reading last week. While considering the bill, lawmakers declined to approve a proposed amendment to Clause 60, Subsection 3, which sought to make electronic transmission of election results mandatory.
The rejected amendment would have required presiding officers of INEC to electronically transmit results from each polling unit to the IREV portal in real time after completing and authenticating the prescribed Form EC8A with signatures from electoral officials and party agents.
Instead, the Senate adopted the existing provision in the Electoral Act, which empowers the presiding officer to transmit election results, including the number of accredited voters and ballot outcomes, using any method prescribed by INEC.
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