Senate Approves Electronic Result Transmission, Permits Manual Collation As Alternative

The Senate has passed a law allowing election results to be sent electronically to the Independent National Electoral Commission’s Result Viewing Portal, known as IReV.

However, the Senate also approved manual collation as an alternative if technical problems arise.

The decision came after lawmakers reviewed a disputed section of the Electoral Act Amendment Bill during plenary on Tuesday.

Tahir Monguno, the senator representing Borno North, moved the motion for the review.

He explained that a closer look at Clause 60(3) of the proposed 2026 Electoral Act showed the need for changes to avoid confusion and practical difficulties during elections.

Monguno suggested that presiding officers at polling units should be allowed to upload results electronically to the IReV portal once the EC8A result form has been properly filled, signed, and stamped.

The amendment does not make electronic transmission compulsory, nor does it require results to be uploaded in real time.

According to the new provision, if there are network failures or other technical issues that prevent electronic transmission, the manually completed EC8A form will be used as the official document for collating and announcing results.

Abba Moro, the Senate Minority Leader, supported the proposal, saying electoral laws must balance transparency with the country’s technological limitations.

Following a short debate, Senate President Godswill Akpabio put the amendment to a voice vote, and it was approved by the majority.

KanyiDaily recalls that the Senate had rejected a proposal to amend Clause 60(3) of the Electoral Amendment Bill that would have made electronic transmission of election results compulsory.