The Senate has approved the use of electronic transmission of election results to the Independent National Electoral Commission’s Result Viewing Portal (IReV), while also allowing manual collation of results where technology fails.
The decision was taken on Tuesday during plenary after lawmakers revisited a section of the Electoral Act Amendment Bill that had earlier generated controversy.
The amendment came through a motion moved by Senator Tahir Monguno (Borno North), who said a closer review of Clause 60(3) of the Electoral Act (Repeal and Enactment) Bill 2026 showed the need for changes to avoid disputes and practical challenges during elections.
According to Monguno, the revised provision allows presiding officers at polling units to electronically upload results to the IReV portal once Form EC8A has been properly filled, signed and stamped. However, the law does not make electronic transmission compulsory and does not provide for real-time uploading of results.
The amendment also clearly states that where electronic transmission is not possible due to network failure or other communication issues, the manually completed EC8A form will be used for collation and declaration of results.
Senate Minority Leader, Abba Moro, who seconded the motion, said the country’s electoral laws must strike a balance between transparency and the reality of limited infrastructure in some parts of Nigeria.
After a short debate, the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, put the motion to a voice vote, which was overwhelmingly approved by lawmakers.
The move is expected to address concerns over credibility of election results while recognising technological challenges in some polling areas across the country.
