The Senate on Tuesday passed the Electoral Act 2022 (repeal and Re-enactment) Amendment Bill 2026, but rejected a proposed amendment that would have made the electronic transmission of election results mandatory, a move that has triggered widespread criticism ahead of the 2027 general elections. The contentious amendment to Clause 60(3) sought to compel presiding officers of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to transmit polling unit results electronically to the IReV portal in real time after the signing of Form EC8A, Lawmakers instead retained the 2022 provision, which allows results to be transmitted "in a manner as prescribed by the Commission."
Senate President Godswill Akpabio, however, dismissed claims that lawmakers voted against electronic transmission, insisting the Senate merely upheld the existing law. "This Senate under my watch has not rejected the electronic transmission of results," he said, adding that reports to the contrary were "misleading.
During clause-by-clause consideration, the Senate also rejected a proposal prescribing a 10-year jail term for buyers and sellers of Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs), retaining a two-year sentence while increasing the fine from N2 million to N5 million. Lawmakers further adjusted electoral timelines, cutting the notice of election from 360 to 180 days and reducing the deadline for submission of candidates’ lists from 180 to 90 days.
Other amendments included retaining provisions on ballot paper formats, replacing smart card readers with the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS), and maintaining the Permanent Voter’s Card as the sole means of voter identification. The Senate also struck out Clause 142 on non-compliance, which would have allowed documentary evidence without oral testimony in election petitions.
The Senate’s decision drew sharp reactions from opposition parties and political figures. Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar described the move as “a grave setback for electoral reform,” arguing that “real-time electronic transmission of results is not a partisan demand; it is a democratic safeguard.”
The Labour Party condemned the action as “one of the most retrogressive and anti-people decisions taken by the Nigerian legislature since the return to democracy in 1999,” insisting that Nigerians overwhelmingly support electronic transmission to curb manipulation.
Similarly, APGA founder, Chief Chekwas Okorie, accused lawmakers of living “in the Stone Age,” while the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) said the rejection was “shameful and unfortunate,” warning that it undermines democratic consolidation and public confidence in elections.
Former PDP Deputy National Chairman, Chief Olabode George, described the decision as “an abomination,” asking, “Are they lawmakers or lawbreakers?” and urged the Senate leadership to revisit the issue in the interest of fairness and credibility.
Meanwhile, INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, said the commission had finalised the timetable for the 2027 elections under the existing law, stressing that "dead men don't vote" as he announced plans for a nationwide voter revalidation exercise to sanitise the 93.4 million-strong voters register.
Amupitan added that INEC was intensifying preparations for upcoming elections, including the February 2026 FCT Area Council polls, bye-elections in Rivers and Kano, and governorship contests in Ekiti and Osun, while calling on the National Assembly to expedite harmonisation of the Electoral Act amendments for presidential assent.
