The Senate has passed the Electoral Act 2022 Repeal and Reenactment Amendment Bill 2026 after its third reading, but rejected a proposal to make electronic transmission of election results mandatory. Lawmakers voted against amending Clause 60 to compel presiding officers of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to upload results in real time to the IReV portal.
Instead, the Senate retained the existing provision allowing results to be transmitted in a manner prescribed by INEC. Senate President Godswill Akpabio said electronic transmission was already recognised in the law and denied claims that the Senate had rejected it or sought to frustrate electoral reforms.
Earlier, senators rejected a proposed ten-year jail term for buying or selling Permanent Voter Cards, opting to keep a two-year prison sentence while increasing the fine from two million to five million naira. They also amended timelines, reducing the notice of election from 360 to 180 days and cutting the deadline for submission of candidates’ lists from 180 to 90 days before polls.
Also Read: Napoli and Osimhen Reject €70m Saudi Bid, Insist on Full Release Clause
The Senate retained the use of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System for accreditation but upheld the Permanent Voter Card as the means of voter identification at polling units. It also struck out a clause on non-compliance in election petitions and announced the setting up of a conference committee, to be chaired by Senator Tahir Munguno.
Leave feedback about this
You must be logged in to post a comment.