President Bola Tinubu on Wednesday declared that manual transmission of election results will remain the foundation of Nigeria’s electoral process, even as electronic transmission gains legal backing under the newly signed Electoral Act (Amendment) 2026.
Speaking at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, shortly after assenting to the bill, Tinubu stressed that technology would only support but not replace the manual collation and transmission of results.
“Essentially, what we are looking at is the transmission of manual results, and we must avoid glitches,” the President said.
He cautioned against over-reliance on technology, noting that elections are ultimately administered by people, not machines.
“No matter how good a system is, it is managed by people, promoted by people and finalised by people. You are not going to be talking to a computer; you are going to be talking to human beings who announce the results,” he stated.
Tinubu said the overriding goal of the amendment is to prevent confusion and voter disenfranchisement.
“What is crucial is that you manage the process to the extent that there will be no confusion and no disenfranchisement of Nigerians, and we are all going to see democracy flourish,” he added, commending the National Assembly for what he described as thorough deliberations committed to national development and stability.
The amendment was signed days after the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) released the timetable for the 2027 general elections, scheduled for February 20 (Presidential and National Assembly) and March 6 (Governorship and State Houses of Assembly).
The Electoral Act amendment had generated intense debate nationwide, particularly over whether electronic transmission of results should be made mandatory and exclusive. Civil society organisations and opposition figures had pushed for real-time transmission directly from polling units to INEC’s central server, arguing that it would curb manipulation.
However, the ruling party and some stakeholders raised concerns about network limitations in remote areas, advocating a hybrid approach that preserves manual collation where electronic systems fail.
Also speaking after the signing ceremony, Senate President Godswill Akpabio said the amended law ensures transparency while addressing infrastructural realities.
“At the end, Nigerians will benefit a lot from future elections. Every vote will now count,” Akpabio said.
He explained that polling unit results documented on Form EC8A — signed by presiding officers, party agents and security personnel — would remain the primary source of collation. Electronic transmission to the INEC Result Viewing Portal (iREV), he said, would serve as an additional transparency layer.
“We took cognisance of areas where there may not be any network,” Akpabio noted, adding that results could still be uploaded once connectivity becomes available. He maintained that discrepancies between uploaded results and subsequent collation would be easily detected, effectively eliminating post-polling unit tampering.
In recent weeks, pro-democracy movements, opposition parties, and civil society organisations have stepped up their calls for the mandatory electronic transmission of polling station results in real-time straight to INEC’s central database.
Just last week, demonstrators flocked to Abuja’s National Assembly complex to call on lawmakers to include live result transmission in the revised legislation. Instantaneous electronic uploads, according to the protesters, would greatly reduce collation manipulation, improve transparency, and restore public confidence in election results.
The Senate President also dismissed claims that the National Assembly bowed to political pressure, insisting the amendment reflects broad consultations and the aspirations of Nigerians.
On post-election judicial decisions, Akpabio said the new law provides that where a declared winner is disqualified by a court, a fresh election must be conducted rather than awarding victory to a runner-up who did not secure the majority vote.
Speaker of the House of Representatives, Abbas Tajudeen, highlighted another change in the amendment — the reduction of the election notice period from 360 days to 300 days. According to him, this adjustment could result in presidential and National Assembly elections being held in January 2027, thereby avoiding the Ramadan period and potentially reducing voter apathy.
Meanwhile, former Cross River State Resident Electoral Commissioner, Mike Igini, criticised the retention of manual collation as a backup and blamed the judiciary for recurring challenges in Nigeria’s electoral system.
“That debate has held this country down. Regulations and guidelines made pursuant to constitutional powers have the force of law. They are subsidiary legislation. Democracy is in danger when the judiciary shows signs of weakness, collapse or irrelevance. Who becomes what must be determined at the polling unit, not in court”, he said.
The amendment comes against the backdrop of controversies surrounding the 2023 general elections, when technical glitches with INEC’s results portal sparked allegations of irregularities.
With the new law in place, President Tinubu has made it clear that while electronic transmission is now recognised, manual transmission remains central to Nigeria’s electoral framework.
