News

Senate approves e-transmission of results, makes Form EC8A primary source of collation

Brown AJFeb 10, 2026
Senate approves e-transmission of results, makes Form EC8A primary source of collation

The Senate has approved the electronic transmission of election results to the Independent National Electoral Commission’s Result Viewing Portal (IReV), while allowing manual collation to serve as a fallback when technology fails.

The decision came after lawmakers revisited a controversial clause in the Electoral Act Amendment Bill during an emergency plenary session held on Tuesday.

Despite the approval, the Senate declined to make electronic transmission compulsory and also rejected a proposal that would have required real-time uploading of results.

Under the amended provision, presiding officers at polling units are expected to electronically transmit results to the IReV portal once voting and all required documentation have been completed.

However, the amendment states that where electronic transmission is not possible due to network or communication challenges, the manual result sheet, Form EC8A, will take precedence for collation and declaration.

Read Also:

While putting the motion to a voice vote, Senate President Godswill Akpabio asked senators who opposed the amendment to formally challenge it.

“It’s very simple. If you disagree with him, move your counter motion. So, if you agree with him, you agree with me when I put the votes,” Akpabio said.

He explained that the motion was meant to reverse an earlier Senate decision on Section 60, Subsection 3 of the Electoral Act.

“When I ask for the votes, when I ask for your consent, let me read the motion. His earlier motion, which passed in our last sitting, he has sought to rescind that. That is in respect of Section 60, Subsection 3. And this is what he said,” Akpabio stated.

Reading the revised clause, the Senate President said, “That the presiding officer shall electronically transmit the results from each polling unit to the IReV portal.

“And such transmission shall be done after the prescribed Form EC8A has been signed and stamped by the presiding officer and/or countersigned by the candidates or polling agents, where available at the polling units, because sometimes you don’t see any polling agent.”

Akpabio added that the law now clearly recognises situations where electronic transmission may not be possible.

“Provided that if the electronic transmission of the results fails as a result of communication failure — in other words, maybe network or otherwise — and it becomes impossible to transmit the results electronically in Form EC8A signed and stamped by the presiding officer and/or countersigned by the candidates or polling agents where available at the polling units, the Form EC8A shall in such a case be the primary source of collation and declaration of results,” he said.

The amendment has drawn criticism from civil society groups and opposition figures, who warn that allowing manual results to override electronically transmitted ones could weaken transparency and open the door to manipulation, particularly in areas with poor network coverage.

Watch the video here…

Tags
Brown AJFeb 10, 2026