The Electoral Act Amendment Bill was enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives, and the electronic transmission of results was approved.
The approval came on Tuesday, when MPs returned to plenary following a three-week break.
The Senate had formed a seven-member conference committee to meet with members of the House of Representatives Conference Committee in order to reconcile the discrepancies between the Senate and House versions of the Electoral Act Amendment Bill.
On October 12, the Senate caved to pressure by granting the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) sole authority over the mode of results dissemination.
This came after the Nigerian Communications Commission reversed its earlier decision, which stated that INEC may consider electronic transmission of results “provided national [network] coverage is adjudged to be adequate and secure” by the Nigerian Communications Commission and approved by the National Assembly.
The Senate resolved that “voting during an election and transmission of results under this Bill shall be in conformity with the procedure set by the Commission, which may include electronic voting” in a new addition to Clause 52 (2) of the Electoral Act Amendment Bill.
The bill was enacted by the House of Representatives shortly after it was approved by the Senate, completing the process of revising the Electoral Act.
