The Senate has approved the electronic transmission of election results from polling units, reversing its earlier stance on the issue.
The decision followed a motion by the Senate Chief Whip, Senator Mohammed Monguno, who urged the chamber to rescind its previous rejection of real-time electronic transmission.
Only last Wednesday, the Senate had retained provisions of the Electoral Act 2023 that limited the use of electronic result transmission.
With the new approval, lawmakers passed an amended Clause 60(3), allowing presiding officers at polling units to electronically transmit results after Form EC8A has been properly completed and signed.
The clause provides that electronic transmission will be used where the necessary technology is available and functional. However, where electronic transmission fails or is not feasible, the signed Form EC8A will serve as the primary source of the election results.
The amendment triggered debate during plenary, with Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe initially calling for a division before later withdrawing the request.
