The Senate has finally bowed to pressure after mass protest by Nigerians demanding mandatory real-time electronic transmission of results.
The Senate which had to cut short it’s recess for an emergency plenary on Tuesday agreed to demands by Nigerians approving a proposal allowing the electronic transmission of election results from polling units.
The new position followed a motion moved by the Senate Chief Whip, Mohammed Monguno from Borno State, seeking to rescind the chamber’s earlier rejection of real time electronic transmission of election results.
The Senate had last Wednesday retained provisions of the current Electoral Act, 2022, which effectively limited electronic transmission of results to the dictates of INEC.
The provision of the Electoral Act 2022 Clause 60(3) allows for collation of results and then transfer from polling units to ward, local government and state levels.
However with the approval of the new proposal, the Senate passed an amended to Clause 60(3), permitting the presiding officer at each polling unit to transmit election results electronically after Form EC8A had been duly completed and signed by all party agents.
Under the approved clause,by the Senate, electronic transmission will be used, where the technology does not fail and is possible to use.
The new clause however, provides that in situations where electronic transmission fails or becomes impossible, the signed Form EC8A will serve as the primary source of election results.
The passage of the clause generated debate on the Senate floor, with Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe initially calling for a division on the matter before withdrawing the request moments later”