The Nigerian Senate has passed for second reading a bill seeking to repeal the Electoral Act 2022 and introduce a new Electoral Act 2025, with a key provision mandating the electronic transmission of election results ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The proposed legislation, which regulates the conduct of federal, state, and area council elections, is aimed at addressing the technical challenges that marred the 2023 presidential election and ensuring greater transparency in future polls.
Chairman of the Senate Committee on Electoral Matters, Senator Simon Lalong (APC, Plateau South), who led debate on the bill last week before it was stepped down for further consideration, said the amendment was necessary to correct lapses identified during the last general elections.
According to Daily Trust, the National Assembly’s Joint Committees on Electoral Reforms, in collaboration with the Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre (PLAC), had earlier conducted a public hearing on the proposed reforms — a move that has sparked discussions on legislative procedure.
A draft of the amendment obtained by Daily Trust shows that lawmakers intend to alter Section 60 (5) of the Electoral Act to make electronic transmission of results compulsory.
While the 2022 law did not explicitly require electronic transmission, the proposed 2025 version provides that “the Presiding Officer shall transmit the results, including the total number of accredited voters, to the next level of collation both electronically and manually.”
This marks a significant shift from the current provision, which merely states that presiding officers should transfer results “in a manner as prescribed by the Commission,” without specifying the mode of transmission.
