The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has declined to comment on the controversy trailing the amendment of the Electoral Act 2022 by the Senate, particularly the clause on real-time transmission of election results.
The controversy over the amendment of the act started on
February 4, after the Senate passed the amendment bill after a five-hour
clause-by-clause deliberation.
One of the amendments reduced the timeline for INEC to
publish a notice of election from 360 days to 180 days.
The senate also ruled out real-time transmission of election
results and retained the provision for electronic transfer of results as
provided for in the Electoral Act 2022.
At the centre of the controversy is clause 60(3) of the
amendment bill.
The proposed amendment reads: “The presiding officer shall
electronically transmit the results from each polling unit to the IREV portal
in real time, 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 unit agents, where available at the polling unit”.
This amendment intends to make electronic transmission
compulsory, ensure it is in real-time, and link the same directly to IReV. In
other words, it would have changed electronic transmission from a discretionary
exercise into a legal duty.
But the senate rejected this proposal. Instead, it adopted
section 60(5) of the existing Electoral Act 2022, which says: “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”.
On February 9, civil society organisations organised a
protest at the national assembly complex over the rejection of the clause of
electronic transmission of election results by the senate.
Peter Obi, presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP)
in the 2023 election, led a group of protesters for the first day of the
protest.
On the second day, Rotimi Amaechi, former governor of Rivers
state and ex-minister of transportation, joined the protest.
Amid the controversy, the senate scheduled an emergency
plenary sitting for Tuesday, February 10.
Unlike the senate, the house of representatives adopted the
clause mandating real-time transmission of results.
THE U-TURN
During Tuesday’s emergency plenary, the senate approved the
electronic transmission of election results to the INEC result viewing portal
(IReV), while allowing manual collation to serve as a fallback where technology
fails.
The amendment was introduced through a motion sponsored by
Tahir Monguno, senator representing Borno north.
Monguno said further scrutiny of clause 60(3) of the
Electoral Act (Repeal and Enactment) Bill 2026 had revealed the need for
adjustments to prevent disputes and operational setbacks during elections.
Monguno proposed that presiding officers at polling units be
permitted to transmit results electronically to the IReV portal after form EC8A
has been duly completed, signed and stamped.
The motion was seconded by Abba Moro, senate minority
leader, who supported the view that electoral laws must reflect both
transparency objectives and the infrastructural realities across the country.
Following brief deliberations, Godswill Akpabio, the senate
president, put the amendment to a voice vote, with the “ayes” prevailing.
The senate and the house of representatives are expected to
harmonise the different amendments.
INEC COMMENT
When TheCable reached out to Adedayo Oketola, chief press
secretary to Joash Amupitan, chairman of the INEC, on comments over the
controversy surrounding the electoral act amendment and whether the commission
has the technical capacity for real-time electronic transmission of election
results.
Oketola said since the amendment of the legislation is an
ongoing process, the commission will not make a comment until it is finalised.
“The amendment of the Electoral Act 2022 is still an ongoing
process. Let’s wait for it to be finalised. We can’t comment on this now,” he
said.
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