Electronic results transmission allowable but dependent on internet availability during election – Senate
By Folarin Ademosu
The Nigerian Senate, on Wednesday, further amended the Election Amendment Bill to allow electronic transmission of results to the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) iRev portal during elections, but it did amid protest from opposition senators.
Based on the amendment, voting results, after being collated and certified by the presiding officer and party agents, shall be electronically transferred from the polling unit directly to the INEC iRev.
The Senate, however, introduced the proviso that should there be an internet failure, the results entered into the INEC Form EC8A shall be the official result of votes in the voting centre.
The adoption of the manual transmission, already provided for in the extant Electoral Act, elicited a protest from opposition lawmakers.
The opposition rejected the voice-vote adopted by the President of the Senate, Sen. Godswill Akpabio in deciding on the motion. It, rather, called for a head count.
Raising a point of order just after the gavel dropped on the motion, Sen. Eyinnaya Abaribe, (ADC, Abia) opposed the Senate president and, instead, called for a division to decide the matter.
Other opposition lawmakers echoed Abaribe’s rejection and called for a physical vote count on the motion.
The opposition’s call for a vote count was hinged on its insistence that the results transmission to INEC central portal be mandatory and should be done in real-time — and, of course, without the option of a manual transmission.
The initial refusal of the All Progressives Congress-majority Senate to accommodate electronic results transfer had resulted in a protest against it by civil society members and notable politicians. Both presidential hopefuls, Peter Obi, and Rotimi Amaechi joined the protest.
