Posted by Samuel on Thu 05th Feb, 2026 - tori.ng
But Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, said in a swift reaction that the Senate retained transmission of results as provided in the 2022 Act.
Following sustained pressure from the media and other stakeholders, the Senate yesterday passed the Electoral Act Amendment Bill.
However, the Senate declined to approve electronic transmission of results, a provision many consider crucial to ensuring 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.”
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.