Senator Orji Kalu has revealed that the Senate’s revised position on the Electoral Act makes electronic transmission of results the “primary method” for elections, following an emergency plenary session on Tuesday that reversed the chamber’s earlier controversial stance.
In a statement shared on his official Facebook page on Tuesday, February 10, the Abia North Senator described the development as a significant shift that prioritises digital transmission whilst protecting voters in areas with poor network coverage.
“Today at emergency plenary, I supported and added my voice to the Senate’s new position approving the electronic transmission of election results from polling units across Nigeria,” Kalu announced.
The lawmaker explained that under the amended Clause 60(3) of the Electoral Act, presiding officers are now expected to transmit results electronically after completing and signing Form EC8A, making digital transmission the default approach.
“This means electronic transmission becomes the primary method where the technology is available and functional,” he stated.
However, Kalu emphasised that the provision includes a safeguard for areas where technology fails, ensuring that manually completed forms remain valid in such circumstances.
“However, where it fails or becomes impossible, the duly signed Form EC8A remains the valid and primary source of results,” he said.
The senator defended the compromise approach as necessary to balance transparency with inclusivity, arguing that making electronic transmission mandatory could disenfranchise voters in network-challenged communities.
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“This balanced approach strengthens transparency, fairness, and credibility in our electoral process, whilst ensuring that voters in network-challenged communities are not disenfranchised,” Kalu stated.
“Our democracy must work for every Nigerian, everywhere,” he added.
The Senate’s revised position follows intense public backlash after lawmakers initially rejected mandatory electronic transmission during the first consideration of the Electoral Act amendment.
Critics, including opposition parties, civil society groups, and the Nigeria Labour Congress, accused the Senate of deliberately weakening electoral safeguards to facilitate manipulation in the 2027 elections.
The upper chamber has now approved electronic transmission to INEC’s Result Viewing Portal, whilst maintaining manual collation as a backup option where technology proves unreliable.
However, the Senate stopped short of making electronic transmission compulsory and rejected provisions for real-time upload of results—decisions that critics argue still leave room for result manipulation.
The revised bill must now be harmonised with the House of Representatives version, which had earlier approved mandatory electronic transmission, before being sent to President Bola Tinubu for assent.