The Senate on Tuesday, February 10, 2026, backtracked and rescinded its last week decision on the Electoral Act 2022 amendment for which it earlier rejected the mandatory electronic transmission of election results from polling units to the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) Result Viewing Portal (IREV) after vote counting at the polling unit.
Accordingly, the Senate re-amended the Electoral Act to accommodate the electronic transmission of results.
However, the provision comes with a caveat that, in the event of internet failure, Form EC8A will serve as the primary means of result collation.
The implication of the amendment is the fact that the amendment has not make electronic transmission mandatory, but merely allows results to be transmitted electronically with an option in cases of network failure.
The Senate new decision followed a motion moved by the Senate Chief Whip, Tahir Monguno (APC, Borno North), during an emergency plenary session, saying that the decision to rescind the Senate’s earlier rejection of electronic transmission was informed by the need for the Electoral Act to reflect the wishes of Nigerians.
According to Monguno; “This amendment is to bring our laws to make it a replica of the wishes and aspirations of the people”.
While seconding the motion, the Senate Minority Leader, Senator Abba Moro, said the motion was in tune with the wishes of majority of Nigerians.
Accordingly, the President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, put the motion to a voice vote, which was overwhelmingly supported by lawmakers.
It would be recalled that during clause-by-clause consideration of the Electoral Act amendment last Wednesday, after a closed-door meeting of Senators, Monguno requested that the Senate to retain the provision in Clause 60 of the 2022 Electoral Act, which allows for the transfer of election results to collation centres.
However, with the latest amendment, the Senate has now accepted that its earlier version of the amendment was passed without a provision for electronic transmission of results.
