By Gabriel Ani
ABUJA, Nigeria (chatnewstv.com) — Nigeria’s 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 compulsory.
Lawmakers voted instead to retain the existing provision of the Electoral Act 2022, which gives the Independent National Electoral Commission discretion over how results are transmitted.
The rejected amendment sought to alter Clause 60, Subsection 3, to require presiding officers to transmit results electronically from each polling unit to the INEC Result Viewing (IREV) portal in real time, after Form EC8A had been signed, stamped and countersigned by party agents.
Rather than adopt the change, the Senate approved the current wording of the law, 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 decision followed a motion by Sen. Tahir Monguno of the ruling All Progressives Congress from Borno State, who argued that the bill should retain the original language of the 2022 law and remove the proposed requirement for mandatory electronic transmission.
Supporters of the amendment had argued that compulsory electronic transmission would enhance transparency and reduce disputes over election outcomes, while opponents maintained that INEC should retain flexibility to determine the most appropriate method of results transmission.
Further details of the debate and the implications for the 2026 amendment bill were expected later.
