Senate Rejects Mandatory Real-Time Election Result Transmission

The Nigerian Senate has resolved against a clause in the Electoral Bill 2026 that would mandate the electronic transmission of election results in real-time. Senate leader Opeyemi Bamidele explained that the decision was based on empirical data reflecting the country's infrastructural realities.

He highlighted that Nigeria's current power generation capacity hovers between 12,000 and 13,500 megawatts, which limits the ability to ensure reliable real-time transmission. Bamidele noted that while the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) aims for 70% broadband coverage by 2025, the country ranks 85th out of 105 in global internet speed and 129th out of 150 in mobile network reliability.

Furthermore, 85 million Nigerians lack access to grid electricity, which poses significant challenges for real-time electronic transmission. Consequently, the Senate opted for a discretionary approach to transmission, deleting the real-time clause to address these concerns.