Following sustained pressure from the media and other stakeholders, the Senate has passed the Electoral Act Amendment Bill, but declined to approve mandatory electronic transmission of election results ahead of the 2027 polls.
The upper chamber passed the Electoral Act 2022 (Repeal and Re-enactment) Amendment Bill, 2026, after its third reading. However, lawmakers rejected a proposed amendment to Clause 60, Subsection 3, which sought to make the electronic transmission of results compulsory.
Reacting to the decision, Senate President Godswill Akpabio clarified that the Senate retained the transmission of results as already provided for in the 2022 Electoral Act.
The rejected amendment would have required presiding officers of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to electronically transmit polling unit results to the IReV portal in real time, after Form EC8A had been signed and stamped by the presiding officer and counter-signed by party agents.
Instead, the Senate adopted the existing provision of the law, 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, lawmakers also rejected a proposed 10-year jail term for buyers and sellers of Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) under Clause 22. The Senate retained a two-year imprisonment term but increased the fine from N2 million to N5 million.
In another amendment, the Senate reviewed Clause 28 on the notice of election, reducing the timeline for INEC to publish a notice of election from 360 days to 180 days before the election date.
Similarly, Clause 29 was amended to reduce the deadline for political parties to submit lists of candidates and their affidavits from 180 days to 90 days before a general election. The provision requires that candidates must have emerged from valid party primaries.
The Senate also retained Clause 44 on the format of ballot papers, which mandates INEC to invite political parties, not later than 20 days before an election, to inspect samples of electoral materials bearing their identities.
Under Clause 47, lawmakers replaced smart card readers with the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) for accreditation and voting. However, after extensive debate, the Senate rejected electronically generated voter identification and retained the Permanent Voter’s Card as the approved means of identification at polling units.
Meanwhile, Clause 142 on the effect of non-compliance was struck out. The provision had stated that oral evidence would not be required where documentary evidence clearly disclosed alleged non-compliance. Lawmakers argued that retaining the clause could amount to a waste of judicial time.
For the bill to become law, the Senate and the House of Representatives will harmonise their versions before transmitting it to President Bola Tinubu for assent.