• Maintaining the much-criticized provision of the old law giving INEC discretion over the transition method;
•Reduced election notification deadline from 360 days to 180 days
• Abolition of a 10-year ban on political activity based on vote-buying.
•PDP: Parliamentarians’ actions are shameful and harmful to the consolidation of democracy
Chuks Okocha and Sunday Abolisade in Abuja
Nigeria’s Senate yesterday came under fire for what many Nigerians described as a gross betrayal of public trust. It comes after lawmakers disappointed widely by passing a revised election law that rejected mandatory real-time electronic uploading of election results from polling places. The reforms are widely seen as essential to restoring confidence in the country’s difficult electoral process.
In October 2023, Nigeria’s Supreme Court ruled that electronic transmission of election results is not mandatory under the 2022 Elections Act.
The court confirmed that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has the legal authority and discretion to determine the specific manner in which election results will be transmitted and collated.
The Supreme Court has clarified that the INEC Result Viewing (IReV) portal is not a collation system and is only for public viewing as it is not recognized as a collation instrument under the 2022 Elections Act.
The court further ruled that the non-availability or unavailability of results in IReV does not invalidate the election results or stop the manual verification process.
The judgment emphasized that the 2022 Elections Act does not explicitly require “electronic transmission” alone. Rather, INEC is permitted to prescribe any method it deems appropriate, which may include manual or electronic methods.
The judgment is part of the final judgment dismissing the appeals of Atiku Abubakar (PDP) and Peter Obi (Labour), confirming President Bola Tinubu’s victory.
The decision taken to pass the Electoral Laws (Repeal and Enactment) Bill 2026 effectively retained the 2022 law’s controversial provisions regarding communication of results, sparking anger from opposition parties, civil society and democracy advocates, who warned that the measures would undermine the strengthening of democracy.
By rejecting a proposal to explicitly require presiding officers to upload voting unit results to the INEC portal in real-time, the Senate chose continuity over reform, even as it moved to amend other aspects of the electoral framework, including shortening the election schedule, revising penalties for electoral violations, and formally replacing smart card readers with the Bimodal Voter Authentication System (BVAS).
The Senate specifically rejected the Electoral Affairs Commission’s proposal to require real-time electronic transmission of election results from voting bodies, maintaining electronic transmission as provided for in the 2022 Elections Act.
The senators’ actions came as a rude shock to many Nigerians. That’s because his fellow House members passed this landmark provision two months ago, drawing applause from stakeholders. Stakeholders saw this provision as a major step toward ensuring the integrity of elections in the country.
The decision on transmitting results was the most contentious issue during article-by-clause consideration, with MPs rejecting the Senate Electoral Affairs Committee’s recommendation to force the Speaker to upload voting unit results in real-time to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)’s IREV portal.
Instead, the Senate adopted existing section 60 of the 2022 law, which requires results to be transmitted electronically “in such manner as the Commission may prescribe” after they are announced at the polling station, and to proceed to the next level of collation.
Protests over conference committee composition split Senate
However, the chamber descended into chaos after Senate President Godswill Akpabio announced the members of the Red House conference committee that would meet with their counterparts in the House of Representatives.
The conflict was actually between Senators Simon Lalon and Asuquo Ekpenyong and was sparked by the observation of Northern senators led by Ali Ndume who protested against the non-inclusion of Lalon, who is the chairperson of the Electoral Affairs Committee, into the conference committee.
The development led to several minutes of uproar after which Akpabio immediately announced the appointment of Lalon as the conference chairman, and his quick intervention defused the tension.
During the argument, Lalon was also seen telling Ekpeyong to learn how to talk to elders and not be rude.
“Go learn how to talk to elders and stop talking to me in such a disrespectful manner,” Lalon yelled at Ekpeyong.
Under the provisions maintained, the chairperson was to count the votes at the polling station, record the scores on the prescribed forms, announce the results, provide copies to voting agents and security personnel where possible, and transmit the results electronically as directed by INEC.
Willful violations are punishable by a fine of up to N500,000 or imprisonment for at least six months.
The rejected proposal explicitly mandates real-time uploading to IREV immediately after signing Form EC8A, with a fine of not less than 500,000 Naira or imprisonment of not less than 6 months, or both.
Senators who opposed the amendment argued that codifying “real time” could create ambiguity and operational risks, especially in areas with limited network coverage.
Chairman of the Senate Committee on Media and Publicity, Senator Adeyemi Adaramodu, said the dispute was primarily semantic. “Who decides on real-time performance?” he asked.
He said: “Communication of election results should not be based on grammar. Results are communicated electronically for public access, and once made mandatory, there is no longer any discretionary power. It is impossible for the chairperson to falsely claim that the network does not exist without the knowledge of local residents.”
Beyond communicating the results, the Senate approved far-reaching changes to the election schedule. Lawmakers shortened the election notification period from 360 days to 180 days before the end of the current administration’s term.
The deadline for political parties to submit their list of candidates has been shortened from 120 days to 90 days, and the deadline for nominating candidates has also been shortened from 180 days to 90 days.
To strengthen compliance and curb electoral fraud, the Senate increased the fine for illegally possessing a voter card to NOK 5 million, but rejected a 10-year ban on political activities aimed at buying votes.
Instead, it adopted a higher fine, increasing the fine from N500,000 to N5 million. Lawmakers also removed smart card readers from the law and officially replaced them with BVAS, while retaining the electronic transmission of results.
The amendments further clarify the consequences for candidates who are disqualified for submitting false documents, prohibit political parties from replacing such candidates after elections, and provide for new polls to be held, if necessary, excluding disqualified candidates and parties.
Akpabio, who presided over the meeting that lasted into the evening, maintained that the claim that the Senate had rejected the electronic transmission was false.
He said: “Electronic transmissions have always been on our minds. What we did was to maintain what worked in 2022. Retaining the previous provisions means that electronic transmissions remain part of our legislation. We are moving forward, not backwards.”
Mr. Akpabio praised the senators’ stamina and bipartisan engagement, noting that the chamber remained full into the evening.
He also announced the formation of a harmonization conference committee to reconcile differences between the Senate and House versions of the bill.
It will be chaired by Senator Simon Lalon and will have members from all geopolitical zones including Senator Adamu Ariello, Senator Orji Uzor Kalu, Senator Abba Moro, Senator Asuquo Ekpeyong, Senator Aminu Iya Abbas and Senator Tokunbo Abiru. Senator Adeniyi Adegbomiya was added to provide legal guidance.
The Senate President said the committee would work quickly to return a harmonized version within the month, paving the way for presidential assent and timely preparation for future elections.
He added that the Senate has adjourned to the plenary session to focus on the 2026 budget, and that the defense schedules for each department will be announced by the Appropriations committees.
After the session, Adalamodu reiterated to journalists that the electronic transmission to the public will remain intact and that the physical result form will be corroborated.
He said the reforms are aimed at protecting the intentions of voters, discouraging fraud through increased fines and ensuring that disqualifications due to illegality do not sway the will of millions without a new legal contest.
With the bill passed on third reading, attention now turns to conference committees and the final shape of Nigeria’s electoral framework for the next general election.
But in reaction, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) criticized the Senate over its refusal to electronically transmit the results, saying it was a disgrace to democratic consolidation.
In a statement by PDP National Publicity Secretary Ini Emebobon, the party said: “After deliberate and long delays, the Senate today passed the electoral law amendments while rejecting the electronic transmission of results at polling stations.”
“This refusal is most shameful and unfortunate and draws condemnation from all democratically minded people. We call on MPs to remember that they are representatives of the powers vested in them by the voters of their various constituencies and must always strive to reflect the wishes and wishes of their constituents.”
According to the party, it was no secret that the majority of Nigerians across the 109 senatorial districts wanted the sanctity of elections to be better guaranteed through electronic transmission of votes from polling stations.
“We are all witnesses to the widespread practice of altering results before they reach the collation or collation centers. This electronic transmission would have put an end to this dastardly practice that politicians have been deploying to win elections, against the wishes of the people expressed through their ballot papers.
“This rejection clearly shows that Congress is not willing or ready to legislate for the sanctity of elections and the consolidation of democracy. This is a truly sad day for electoral democracy.
“We hereby call on Parliament to immediately reconsider its position on this issue and take steps to pass an amendment authorizing the electronic transmission of results.
“This is a minimal fix. It may increase confidence in the electoral process, but without it the apathy will be worse than in the last general election and very unhelpful for democracy,” the PDP said.
