Lawmakers in Nigeria are set to meet on Monday to reconcile differences in the Electoral Amendment Bill ahead of its transmission to President Bola Tinubu for assent. The bill, passed separately by the Senate and House of Representatives, has sparked debate over provisions for electronic transmission of election results.
The Joint National Assembly Conference Committee, composed of members from both chambers, has been given one week to harmonize disputed sections, particularly on the use of technology in collating and transmitting results. The committee’s work follows controversies from the 2023 general election, when the Independent National Electoral Commission failed to upload presidential election results to its Result Viewing Portal, IReV, in real time.
A National Assembly source confirmed the harmonization meeting would begin Monday. Seriake Dickson, representing Bayelsa West, said lawmakers were awaiting the committee’s final stance on disputed clauses, including the electronic transmission clause.
The House version of the amendment mandates that results be electronically transmitted from each polling unit to IReV in real time, simultaneously with physical collation. The Senate initially excluded real-time transmission but recently restored it, allowing manual collation as a backup if technology fails.
The House also strengthened Section 31 of the Principal Act, requiring candidates withdrawing from elections to submit a sworn affidavit in addition to a written notice to their political party. Section 137 was amended to reduce the timeline for Area Council Election Appeal Tribunals to issue judgments from 180 to 150 days.
Sen. Adeniyi Adegbonmire, chairman of the Senate ad-hoc panel reviewing the bill, clarified that IReV is not an e-voting system but a platform for publishing results already declared at polling units. He said real-time transmission does not change the manual counting process, noting logistical challenges in nationwide elections that prevent simultaneous voting.
Former Nigerian Bar Association president Olisa Agbakoba called for mandatory real-time electronic transmission to enhance electoral transparency. Citing the June 12, 1993, election as a benchmark for credible results, Agbakoba said the absence of explicit legal authority for electronic transmission undermines electoral integrity. He noted that the Supreme Court ruled in 2023 that IReV results are not legally binding, highlighting the need for statutory backing to prevent ambiguity in future elections.
The outcome of the harmonization meeting is expected to determine the final shape of the Electoral Act amendments and set the stage for preparations ahead of the 2027 general election.
