The Nigerian Senate has rejected a proposed amendment to Clause 60, Subsection 3, of the Electoral Act Amendment Bill, which sought to make the electronic transmission of election results compulsory.

According to reports by Channels Television on Wednesday, the amendment would have required presiding officers of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to upload results from each polling unit directly to the IREV portal in real time, immediately after completing Form EC&A. The form, as prescribed, must be signed and stamped by the presiding officer and countersigned by party agents.

However, lawmakers opted to maintain the existing provision of the Electoral Act, 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.”

Observers note that the decision could affect the transparency and speed of election result collation, as electronic transmission has been widely advocated to reduce incidents of result manipulation.

Details of further deliberations are expected to be released in due course.