The Senate on Tuesday said it did not throw out electronic transmission of election results, contrary to reports circulating online after the passage of the Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill. The clarification came after a long plenary session that lasted for more than four hours before the bill was finally approved.
Confusion followed the consideration of an amendment to Clause 60, Subsection 3, of the bill, which deals with how results from polling units are transmitted. Discussions on the clause started in the afternoon and ended in the evening, leading many to believe that lawmakers had voted against compulsory electronic upload of results to the Independent National Electoral Commission’s result viewing portal.
Reports had claimed that the Senate rejected a proposal that would have required presiding officers to transmit results electronically immediately after signing the official result forms. It was also reported that lawmakers chose to keep the old provision of the law, which allows INEC to decide how results are transmitted.
Reacting to the reports, Senate President Godswill Akpabio explained that the interpretation was wrong. He said the Senate only retained the provision already contained in the existing Electoral Act, which allows for electronic transmission as practiced during the 2023 general elections. According to him, the lawmakers did not remove or ban electronic transmission from the law.
Akpabio stated that the Senate’s action was aimed at maintaining what already exists in the law, not reversing progress. He added that full records of the Senate’s proceedings would be made available to clear any doubts. The Senate President also noted that allowing electronic transmission remains important for future elections and public trust in the process.
The debate over electronic transmission of results has continued to draw attention since the last general elections, with many groups calling for clearer legal backing. The Senate said its clarification was necessary to calm public concerns and correct what it described as wrong reports about its decision on the bill, as work continues on electoral reforms ahead of future polls.
CLICK THE LINK TO READ FULL LIST
- Advertisement -
Comments are closed.