The Senate has explained that its decision to make the electronic transmission of election results discretionary rather than compulsory was informed by data and prevailing national realities.
Senate Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele, disclosed this in a statement issued by his Directorate of Media and Public Affairs on Sunday. He emphasized that lawmaking carries significant responsibility and must not be carried out in a way that could negatively affect citizens.
According to him, the upper chamber’s stance was not driven by sentiment but by consultations with key stakeholders in Nigeria’s communications and power sectors. The Senate had earlier rejected Clause 60(3) of the Electoral Bill, 2026, which proposed mandatory real-time electronic transmission of results from polling units to the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV).
Although the clause was later reviewed, the Senate introduced a condition that where internet service fails, Form EC8A would serve as the primary method for result collation.
Bamidele noted that while mandatory electronic transmission could strengthen public confidence in democratic institutions such as the National Assembly and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), current infrastructure challenges pose serious limitations.
Citing statistics from the Nigerian Communications Commission, he said Nigeria achieved about 70% broadband coverage in 2025, with internet penetration at just 44.53% of the population.
He also referenced the Speedtest Global Index, which ranked Nigeria 85th out of 105 countries in mobile network reliability and 129th out of 150 in fixed broadband reliability. Nigeria’s mobile network speed stands at 44.14 Mbps—far below countries like the UAE, Qatar, and Kuwait. Fixed broadband speed is even lower at 33.32 Mbps.
On electricity supply, Bamidele stated that around 85 million Nigerians—approximately 43% of the population—still lack access to grid power. Although generation capacity is estimated between 12,000 and 13,500 megawatts, only about 4,500 megawatts can be distributed nationwide.
Given these communication and power constraints, he expressed doubts about the feasibility of enforcing real-time electronic transmission at this stage of national development. Making it compulsory, he warned, could trigger disputes and potential crises if technical failures occur.
He maintained that keeping the provision discretionary is a safer approach, noting that Section 62(2) of the Electoral Act, 2022 already provides for a National Electronic Register of Election Results
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