Senate Passes Electoral Act Amendment Bill 2026, Rejects Mandatory Electronic Transmission of Results

By Emmanuel Kwada

The Nigerian Senate has passed the Electoral Act 2022 (Repeal and Re-enactment) Amendment Bill 2026 through its third and final reading after hours of intense debate and clause-by-clause consideration.

The bill, aimed at refining Nigeria’s electoral framework, introducing changes to timelines, technology use, and penalties for electoral offences, was approved on Wednesday, February 4, 2026. However, lawmakers rejected a key proposal that would have made the real-time electronic transmission of election results mandatory a reform long advocated by civil society groups, opposition parties, and pro-democracy stakeholders as essential for enhancing transparency and reducing manipulation in the electoral process.

The rejected amendment targeted Clause 60, Subsection 3, which sought to compel presiding officers of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to transmit polling unit results directly and in real time to the INEC Result Viewing (IReV) portal after signing and stamping the prescribed result forms (such as Form EC8A) and countersigning by party agents.

Instead, the Senate retained the existing provision from the 2022 Electoral Act, which allows the presiding officer to transfer results including accreditation data and ballot counts  “in a manner as prescribed by the Commission.”

Senate President Godswill Akpabio clarified that electronic transmission itself was not abolished, emphasizing that the current law already accommodates it at INEC’s discretion, as demonstrated in previous elections.

The passage followed extensive deliberations, during which the chamber also made other notable adjustments: Shortening election notice timelines from 360 days to 180 days; Reducing the deadline for political parties to submit candidate lists from 180 days to 90 days before elections; Replacing references to smart card readers with the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) while retaining the Permanent Voter Card as the primary means of voter identification and Rejecting harsher penalties, such as a proposed 10-year jail term for PVC buying/selling, and opting to retain a two-year imprisonment with an increased fine.

With third reading completed in the Senate, the bill now advances toward harmonisation with any corresponding version from the House of Representatives via a conference committee.

The final amended Electoral Act will shape preparations for the 2027 polls, including the release of INEC’s election timetable.

Stakeholders continue to call for swift concurrence and presidential assent to ensure timely implementation of the updated electoral guidelines.