Reps Amend Electoral Act, Approve Mandatory Real-Time Transmission of Election Results

The House of Representatives has approved an amendment to the Electoral Act mandating the real-time electronic transmission of election results from polling units.

The decision was reached on Wednesday during the clause-by-clause consideration of a report proposing amendments to the Electoral Act 2022. The approved provision requires presiding officers to electronically transmit results from each polling unit to the INEC Result Viewing (IReV) portal immediately after the prescribed Form EC8A has been completed, signed, and stamped. Where available, the form must also be countersigned by candidates or their polling unit agents before transmission.

Under the existing law, the Independent National Electoral Commission is not expressly required to transmit election results in real time. Ahead of the last general election, however, INEC had pledged to upload results to the IReV portal as voting concluded. Delays and prolonged inactivity of the portal at several polling units after voting ended raised concerns and fuelled public suspicion about the credibility of the process.

The IReV portal was introduced as part of INEC’s technological reforms aimed at strengthening electoral transparency and integrity. In response to the challenges observed during the last elections, civil society organisations have repeatedly urged the National Assembly to make electronic transmission of results a legal requirement.

In addition to the mandatory transmission provision, lawmakers approved a new clause prescribing a five-year jail term for any presiding officer found guilty of declaring false election results. The House also ratified an amendment making the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System the primary tool for accrediting voters.

The approved provision states that presiding officers must use the BVAS or any other technological device prescribed by INEC to verify and authenticate voters’ details. It further provides that if the BVAS or any approved device fails at a polling unit and a replacement is not deployed, the election in that unit shall be cancelled. In such cases, a fresh election must be conducted within 24 hours, provided INEC determines that the outcome from the affected polling unit would substantially impact the final result and the declaration of a winner.

After considering more than 70 clauses in the amendment report, the House adjourned its sitting and is expected to reconvene on Thursday to continue the review process.