The House of Representatives has rejected the proposed Electoral Amendment Bill that sought to broadcast poll results instantly, opting to retain the traditional manual announcement process.
The decision, which now aligns with the Senate’s position that election results should be transmitted both electronically and manually, marks a U-turn from the House’s earlier stance on Clause 60(3).
The former Clause 60(3) of the Electoral Act Amendment Bill mandated INEC to electronically transmit results from polling units to the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IREV) in real time, alongside physical collation of results.
Under the revised clause, “(3) The Presiding Officer shall electronically transmit the results from each polling unit to the IREV portal, and such transmission shall be done after the prescribed Form EC8A has been signed and stamped by the Presiding Officer and/or countersigned by the candidates or polling agents where available at the polling unit.”
The approval of the new clause on the Green Chamber on Tuesday, sparked protests from opposition lawmakers, who staged a walkout from the chambers.
The lawmakers, led by Minority Leader Hon. Kingsley Chinda, later gathered at the House of Representatives Media Centre to reject the new clause and others, describing them as “anti-people.”
