5th February, 2026
The Senate, yesterday, passed the Electoral Act Amendment Bill but rejected electronic transmission of results, an item that some stakeholders consider critical for free and fair elections in 2027.
The Senate passed the Electoral Act 2022 (Repeal and Re-enactment) Amendment Bill 2026 after the third reading. It rejected a proposed amendment to Clause 60, Subsection 3, of the bill, which sought to make the electronic transmission of election results mandatory.
But Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, said in a swift reaction that the Senate retained transmission of results as provided in the 2022 Act.
The rejected provision would have required presiding officers of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to electronically transmit results from each polling unit to the IReV portal in real time, after the prescribed Form EC8A had been signed and stamped by the presiding officer and counter-signed by candidates’ agents.
Instead, the Senate adopted the existing provision of the Electoral Act, 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.”
Rejects 10-year jail term for PVC traders
Earlier, the upper chamber rejected a proposed 10-year jail term for buyers and sellers of Permanent Voter Cards, PVCs, under Clause 22, opting instead to retain a two-year imprisonment term, while increasing the fine from N2 million to N5.
The decision was taken during consideration of Clause 22 of the Electoral Amendment Bill.
The lawmakers also amended Clause 28 on the notice of election, reducing the timeline from 360 days to 180 days.
The original provision required the commission to publish a notice of election in each state of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory not later than 360 days before the election date.
In Clause 29, the Senate reduced the timeline for the submission of lists of candidates and their affidavits by political parties from 180 days to 90 days.
The amended provision states that “every political party shall, not later than 90 days before the date appointed for a general election under this Act, submit to the Commission, in the prescribed forms, the list of the candidates the party proposes to sponsor at the elections, who shall have emerged from valid primaries conducted by the political party.”
The Senate also retained the provision on the format of ballot papers contained in Clause 44. Under the clause, the INEC is required, not later than 20 days before an election, to invite in writing any political party that nominated a candidate to inspect its identity on samples of relevant electoral materials.
Political parties are allowed to respond in writing within two days, indicating approval or disapproval of how their identity appears on the samples.
Under Clause 47, the Senate replaced smart card readers with the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) for accreditation and voting.
However, after extensive debate, lawmakers rejected electronically generated voter identification and adopted the Permanent Voter’s Card as the mode of identification at polling units.
Meanwhile, the Senate struck out Clause 142 on the effect of non-compliance, which provided that “it shall not be necessary for a party who alleges non-compliance with the provisions of this Bill for the conduct of elections to call oral evidence if originals or certified true copies of relevant documents manifestly disclose the non-compliance alleged.”
The provision was removed, following arguments that it would amount to a waste of time in court.To become law, the Senate and House of Representatives will harmonise their versions and transmit it to President Bola Tinubu for assent.
LP, PDP, Atiku, George, Okorie slam Senate
Meanwhile, the Labour Party, LP; Turaki-led Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, former Deputy National Chairman of the PDP, Chief Olabode George; and founder of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, Chief Chekwas Okorie, criticised the Senate for rejecting electronic transmission of results.
Senate blocking real-time results to protect incumbents — Atiku
Also reacting last night, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, condemned the Senate’s rejection of mandatory real-time electronic transmission of election results, describing the move as a deliberate assault on electoral transparency and a strategy that favours incumbents, ahead of the 2027 general elections.
In a statement signed by his Media Office, Atiku said the decision represented a serious setback for electoral reform and undermined public confidence in Nigeria’s democratic process.
The statement read: “This ill-advised action represents a grave setback for electoral reform and a calculated blow against transparency, credibility, and public trust in Nigeria’s democratic process.
“Real-time electronic transmission of results is not a partisan demand; it is a democratic safeguard. It reduces human interference, limits result manipulation, and ensures that the will of the voter—expressed at the polling unit—is faithfully reflected in the final outcome.
“To reject it, and adopt the 2022 provision on so-called electronic transmission of results is to signal an unwillingness to submit elections to public scrutiny.’’
It’s a betrayal of Nigerians — LP
The LP described the rejection of electronic transfer of results by the Senate as a shameful betrayal of Nigerians by persons elected to represent them.
Mr. Ken Asogwa, Special Adviser to the Interim National Chairman of the Senator Nenadi Usman-led LP, said this while responding to the Senate decision.
He said: “The decision of the Senate to reject electronic transmission of election results from polling units to the INEC server is one of the most retrogressive and anti-people decisions taken by the Nigerian legislature since the return to democracy in 1999.
“Since the 2023 general elections, the singular and consistent clamour of the Nigerian people has been for the electronic transmission of results, as a means of checking irregularities and hiccups witnessed during the last polls.
“What, then, are lawmakers amending in the 2022 Electoral Act if the very clause required to improve transparency and credibility in our electoral process is deliberately rejected?
Only those bent on rigging the process will scorn reforms aimed at strengthening electoral integrity.
Lawmakers toying with Nigeria’s stability — Okorie
Speaking in a similar vein, Chief Chekwas Okorie described the Senate action as an affront on the sensibilities of Nigerians.
He wondered why the National Assembly chose to live “in the Stone Age” while the rest of the world iwas making steady progress towards technology and modernisation.
His words: “I’m not surprised but disappointed that the Senate has decided to be a cog in the wheel of Nigeria’s democratic progress.
“This National Assembly has since its inauguration in 2023 left no one in doubt that it swore an oath to be a rubber stamp of the current executive.
“While they are at it, they must bear in mind that Nigeria is better than all of us, it is bigger than the ruling party and every trick it is plotting to use to deny Nigerians the right to freely elect their leaders come 2027.
“This is a call for all Nigerians to be vigilant because vigilance is the eternal price we must pay to protect our democratic rights.
“We will mobilise, organise and ensure that the sanctity of our votes is protected from the polling booths to the units, wards up till the collation centre. No glitch will be allowed to deny Nigerians the right results.”
