Breaking: Nigerian Senate Okays Electronic Transmission of Polling Unit Results, Keeps EC8A as Fallback

By Iyojo Ameh

The Nigerian Senate has approved a proposal permitting the electronic transmission of election results directly from polling units.
The decision followed a motion moved by the Senate Chief Whip, Senator Mohammed Monguno, urging the chamber to reverse its earlier rejection of real-time electronic transmission of results.

The Senate had, last Wednesday, retained provisions of the Electoral Act, 2023, which effectively restricted electronic transmission.
With the adoption of the new proposal, the Senate passed an amended Clause 60(3), which allows the presiding officer at each polling unit to transmit election results electronically after Form EC8A has been properly completed and signed.
Under the approved clause, electronic transmission of results is permitted where the technology is available and functional. However, where electronic transmission fails or is not feasible, the duly signed Form EC8A shall serve as the primary record of the election results.
The passage of the amendment sparked debate on the Senate floor, with Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe initially calling for a division on the issue before withdrawing his request moments later.