Electoral act: Senate retains manual backup for result transmission after tense showdown

…55 Senators back manual option, 15 oppose

The Senate has retained a controversial proviso in Clause 60 of the Electoral Act Amendment Bill, allowing manual transmission of election results where network failure occurs, after a tense session that culminated in a division vote.

Trouble began during clause-by-clause consideration of the bill when lawmakers reached Clause 60, which deals with the electronic transmission of election results from polling units to INEC’s IReV portal in real time.

Enyinnaya Abaribe raised a point of order, objecting to the proviso in Clause 60(3) that permits manual transmission where the network fails.

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He insisted on mandatory real-time electronic transmission of results, calling for a division to determine lawmakers’ positions.

The chamber momentarily descended into murmurs and consultations before moving into a closed-door session to resolve the impasse.

When plenary resumed, Abaribe renewed his call for division on the contentious proviso.

It will also be recalled that last week Abaribe called for a division, but when the Senate President accepted, he chickened out.

Presiding over the session, Senate President Godswill Akpabio described the development as democratic engagement.

“This is democracy in action,” Akpabio said, directing senators to “signify where they belong by standing up and raising up their hands.”

At the end of the vote, 55 senators, mostly from the ruling All Progressives Congress and two opposition members, voted in favour of retaining the proviso allowing manual transmission where the network fails.

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Fifteen opposition senators voted against it, insisting on mandatory real-time electronic transmission.

Akpabio declared that those who voted for the proviso “had just saved Nigeria’s democracy,” while also commending Abaribe and others for standing their ground.

With the decision, the Senate effectively reaffirmed its earlier position that while electronic transmission of results is permitted, the duly signed Form EC8A by the Presiding Officer and counter-signed by party agents (where available) shall serve as the primary source of results in the event of network failure.

The development marks the second time in one week that the upper chamber has rejected mandatory real-time transmission without a manual fallback, setting the stage for further debate as the bill progresses.