The Senate has voted against a plan to make electronic transmission of election results compulsory under Nigeria’s electoral law.
News360 Info reports that the decision was taken on February 4, 2026, during the review of the Electoral Amendment Bill. Lawmakers rejected a proposed change to Clause 60, Subsection 3, which sought to force the use of electronic result upload for all elections.
The proposal would have required presiding officers of the Independent National Electoral Commission to send polling unit results directly to the IReV portal in real time.
This upload was to be done after election result forms were completed, signed, stamped, and confirmed by party agents at the polling units.
By rejecting the amendment, the Senate chose to keep the current section of the Electoral Act.
Under the existing law, presiding officers are allowed to transfer election results in any way approved by INEC, including details of accredited voters and ballot outcomes.
The move means electronic transmission of results remains optional and subject to the rules set by the electoral body, rather than being enforced by law.
In other news, the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Professor Joash Amupitan, has revealed that a review of Nigeria’s national voters’ register uncovered names of several deceased Nigerians, including prominent politicians, still listed as eligible voters.
News360 Info reports that Amupitan made the disclosure on Wednesday during INEC’s first quarterly meeting with Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) in Abuja, where he announced plans for a nationwide verification exercise to sanitise the register ahead of the 2027 general elections.
