The Nigerian Senate has put forward a proposal that, starting from 2027, all election results and collation center result sheets must be electronically transmitted to the headquarters of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Abuja before the official declaration of election winners.
This recommendation, along with the introduction of diaspora voting for Nigerians residing abroad to participate in their homeland elections, is detailed in the communique issued at the conclusion of a two-day retreat for senators held in Ikot Ekpene, Akwa Ibom State, on Saturday.
The retreat, organized by the National Institute for Legislative Studies (NILDS), was attended by members of the executive branch, with the presence of the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, representing President Bola Tinubu.
The Senate expressed the need to eliminate ambiguity present in Section 64 of the Electoral Act to facilitate the use of technology in the transmission of election results.
Specifically, the communique stated, “Introduce diaspora voting, at least for presidential elections, to enable citizens to vote, especially those on essential service abroad, such as military, paramilitary, and other security personnel abroad, embassy staff, and other citizens.”
In relation to the use of technology in elections, the Senate called for the removal of ambiguity in Section 64 of the Electoral Act (EA22) and stressed the importance of making electronic transmission of results compulsory starting from the next general elections in 2027. This encompasses the uploading of polling unit-level results and result sheets used at different stages of result collation.
