Electoral Act Amendment: Senate Approves Electronic Transmission, Not Transfer – Sen Umeh clarifies

ABUJA – The senator representing Anambra Central, Victor Umeh, has said the Senate unanimously approved electronic transmission of election results in the proposed Electoral Act amendments, contrary to public reports suggesting that lawmakers only endorsed the “transfer” of results.

Umeh made the clarification on Thursday during an appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today, amid growing public outrage over the outcome of the Senate’s consideration of the Electoral Act Amendment Bill.

He explained that the process that produced the amendment was lengthy and deliberate, involving multiple legislative stages and nationwide consultations.

“It takes a process to make a law. A bill must go through readings, public hearings and consultations before debate and passage. Laws are not made for the sake of it; they are made to solve problems,” Umeh said.

According to the senator, the amendment to Section 60 of the Electoral Act 2022, which deals with the transmission of election results, emerged as one of the strongest public demands during consultations across the country.

He said the matter became more urgent after the 2023 general elections, which were widely disputed and eventually challenged up to the Supreme Court.

“During the presidential election cases, arguments were taken on whether results uploaded to the IReV portal had legal backing. The Supreme Court held that electronic transmission was not expressly provided for in the law and discountenanced such evidence,” he said.

Umeh said stakeholders across the country agreed that the law needed to be amended to expressly provide for electronic transmission so that courts would no longer treat electronically transmitted results as “unknown to law”.

He added that both chambers of the National Assembly worked independently on the amendment, noting that the House of Representatives had already passed its version of the bill with clear provisions for electronic transmission of results.

According to him, when the Senate considered the bill during a closed executive session, there was overwhelming support for electronic transmission.

“Over 85 per cent of senators agreed to electronic transmission. It was common ground. Even the ad hoc committee of the Senate agreed to it,” Umeh said.

He explained that the only change agreed to during the executive session was the removal of the phrase “in real time”, following concerns about network challenges in some parts of the country.

Umeh said confusion arose during plenary when a motion was reportedly moved to replace the word “transmission” with “transfer”, without debate.

“It was only ‘real time’ that was expunged because of network issues. Transmission itself was never in dispute,” he said.

“There was no debate on it. If debate had been allowed, it would have taken us back to the executive session where the issue had already been exhaustively discussed and resolved.”

The senator argued that substituting “transmission” with “transfer” would weaken the provision and strip it of meaning.

“You cannot talk about transfer to the IReV portal without electronic transmission. How do you transfer to a portal if it is not done electronically?” he asked.

Umeh also rejected suggestions that the Senate agreed to revert to the wording of the 2022 Electoral Act, which only refers to the “transfer” of results.

Reacting to the public backlash, he said Nigerians’ response showed that what emerged from plenary did not reflect what lawmakers had debated and agreed upon behind closed doors.

According to him, the public expects a more credible and transparent electoral process.

However, he stressed that the legislative process was still ongoing, as the Senate had not yet adopted its Votes and Proceedings from the sitting.

“We have not finished. The Votes and Proceedings of yesterday have not been approved. It is only approved proceedings that go to the conference committee for harmonisation,” he said.

Umeh expressed confidence that the issue would be resolved when the Senate harmonises its version of the bill with that of the House of Representatives.

“When we return to approve the Votes and Proceedings, the question will be asked whether it truly reflects what we did. I believe the agreed position on electronic transmission will be restored,” he said.

The Senate on Tuesday passed the Electoral Act Amendment Bill 2026, retaining the existing provision that allows the Independent National Electoral Commission to transfer results as it deems fit, rather than making electronic transmission mandatory. The bill also shortened election timelines, retained the BVAS while keeping the Permanent Voter Card as the only voter identification, reduced penalties for PVC trading to two years’ imprisonment with a ₦5 million fine, and set up a conference committee to harmonise the legislation.