Opposition Rejects Senate's Electoral Act E-Transmission Clause

On Tuesday, opposition lawmakers in Nigeria's House of Representatives rejected the Senate's proposed amendments to the Electoral Act, focusing on the e-transmission clause. This clause, which covers the electronic transmission of election results, was a point of contention following the Senate's move to replace the House-approved version of the bill.

The Senate's position, which was originally passed by the House, allowed for results to be transmitted electronically from polling units directly to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). Opposition parties argued that the changes would weaken transparency in future elections and insisted that real-time electronic transmission should remain in the bill without compromise.

Earlier in the week, pressure mounted within the chamber, leading the committee on electoral matters to suggest that the House reconsider its earlier decision to align with the Senate's version. However, Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu supported the lawmakers' stance, urging the House to accept the Senate's position, which triggered loud protests from opposition members who chanted "APC ol" across the chamber.

The House had previously approved full electronic transmission of results, while the Senate introduced conditions allowing for manual transmission, leading to a failure to harmonize the two versions in the conference committee for final approval.