Despite public concerns, the House of Representatives reversed its position and agreed with the Senate’s version, which limits mandatory real-time election result transmission via the INEC Results Viewing Portal.

Also, the Senate adjusted the Electoral Act to enable the Independent National Electoral Commission to adjust its election timetable ahead of the 2027 general election.

The House took a similar route with the upper chamber of the legislative arm today after a rowdy session where some of the opposition in the lower chamber had shown their grievances against the development and stormed out before the position was eventually taken by the Representatives.

This development is against the background of the ongoing debate on the amendment of the Electoral Act 2022 to include some wording in the section of the law ahead of the 2027 general elections. One of the contentious parts of the electoral law is the proposal of mandatory real-time transmission of the election results as slated under Clause 60(c) of the Act.

While the House of Representatives had earlier approved mandatory real-time transmission of election results through the IREV portal under clause 60(c) of the Electoral Act amendment bill, the Senate approved electronic transmission with a caveat.

In the legislation passed by the Senators, “Results shall be transmitted electronically from each polling unit to the IReV after the prescribed Form EC8A has been signed and stamped by the presiding officer and party agents who are available at the polling unit.”

“Provided that where the electronic transmission of results fails as a result of communication failure, the result contained in Form EC8A, signed by the presiding officer and/or countersigned by polling agents, shall, in such a case, be the primary source for collation and declaration of results.”

While the position of the Senate on the electoral law outraged Nigerians, leading to protests by civil society groups at the gate to the National Assembly, demanding electronic transmission of results and the adoption of the House version of the clause. The Representatives decided to follow the Senate in the actions.

During the plenary on Tuesday, there was a rising temper among the members of the house when the Speaker, Abbas Tajudeen, called the Chairman of the House Committee on Rules and Business, Francis Waive, to move a motion for the rescission of the passage of the electoral act amendment bill, which was passed on December 23, 2025, and reconsideration of the bill.

When the Speaker asked whether to rescind and reconsider the bill, the opposition members on the floor objected. Some members, most likely from the opposition, voted against the move, but the Speaker decided that the Ayes had it.

Following the rowdy session, Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu, who later presided over it, sided with ruling party legislators who argued that the House should adopt the Senate version by putting the clause to a voice vote, and a majority voted in favour.

Senate Amends  Electoral Act to Enable INEC to Adjust Timetable. Meanwhile, the Senate has also reconvened on Tuesday for an emergency plenary session and dissolved into the Committee of the Whole for rescission and recommittal of the Electoral Act, 2022 (Repeal and Enactment) Bill, 2026, to enable the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to adjust its election timetable.

This development comes on the heels of the announcement of the 2027 general elections, in which the electoral commission has set February 20, 2027, for the presidential and National Assembly elections, with governorship and state Houses of Assembly elections set for March 6, 2027.

The announcement has then triggered concerns among Nigerians, particularly the Muslims, who said the polls would coincide with the Ramadan period, thereby affecting the participation of the Muslims who would be fasting during the polls.

For the second time in a week, the Senate reworked the Electoral Act Amendment Bill, 2026, on Tuesday. It revoked the action it had taken last week when it passed the bill, changing the 360-day notice period outlined in Clause 28 to make sure the 2027 presidential and National Assembly elections do not take place during Ramadan.

The action followed Senate Leader Senator Opeyemi Bamidele’s motion for rescission and recommittal, in which he cited the need to resolve basic inconsistencies and practical issues with the schedule for the general election in 2027.

Under Senate Rules Orders 1(b) and 52(6), Bamidele clarified that the emergency session’s main objective was to examine Clause 28 of the bill, which at the moment requires a 360-day notice for elections.

According to Order 52(6), “unless a substantive motion for rescission is made, it shall be out of order to attempt to reconsider any specific question upon which the Senate has come to a conclusion during the current session.”

Order 1(b) reads: “In all cases not provided for in this Standing Order, or by Sessional or other Orders or practice of the Senate, the Senate shall by Resolution regulate its procedure.”

As the amended Electoral Act Amendment Bill was being considered clause by clause, the Senate made a decision that affected the amendment.

In order to give INEC the freedom to set election dates between December 2026 and January 2027, the Senate modified Clause 28 of the Electoral Act Amendment Bill, reducing the notice of election requirement by 60 days, from 360 to 300 days.

The amended Clause 28 states that “The Commission shall, not later than 300 days before the date appointed for holding an election under this Bill, publish a notice in each State of the Federation and the Federal Capital Territory stating the date of the election and appointing the place where nomination papers are to be delivered.”

“The notice shall be published in each constituency in respect of which an election is to be held. In the case of a by-election, the Commission shall, not later than 14 days before the date appointed for the election, publish a notice stating the date of the election.

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