The House of Representatives descended into disorder on Tuesday following sharp disagreements among lawmakers over a motion aimed at rescinding the passage of the Electoral Act Amendment Bill, particularly provisions relating to real-time electronic transmission of election results.
The Chairman of the House Committee on Rules and Business, Francis Waive, had presented a motion urging the House to reverse its earlier approval of the bill, which was passed on December 23 in alignment with the Senate’s updated position on electronic transmission of results.
When the Speaker of the House, Tajudeen Abbas, subjected the motion to a voice vote, the “nays” appeared to outnumber the “ayes.” Despite this, the Speaker ruled in favour of the “ayes,” declaring that the motion had been carried.
The decision immediately sparked protests on the floor, as several lawmakers raised their voices in objection to the ruling. The tension escalated to the point that the Speaker was compelled to call for an executive session to restore order and allow members deliberate behind closed doors.
It will be recalled that when the House passed the Electoral Act Amendment Bill in December 2025, it adopted a provision mandating compulsory real-time electronic transmission of election results to the Independent National Electoral Commission’s Result Viewing Portal (IReV).
The clause approved by the House stated, “The presiding officer shall electronically transmit the results from each polling unit to the IReV portal in real time, and such transmission shall be done after the prescribed form EC8A has been signed and stamped by the presiding officer and/or countersigned by the candidates or polling unit agents, where available at the polling unit”.
However, when the Senate considered its own version of the bill, it initially rejected the proposal for mandatory real-time electronic transmission of results. The decision drew widespread criticism and protests, with stakeholders calling on the upper chamber to revisit its stance.
Last Tuesday, the Senate reversed its earlier decision and approved the electronic transmission of election results to IReV. Nevertheless, it introduced an additional provision allowing for manual collation of results in the event of technological failure.
Subsequently, both the Senate and the House of Representatives established a joint conference committee to reconcile differences between the two versions of the bill passed by the chambers.
Opposition political parties have continued to urge the National Assembly to adopt the House’s version of the amendment, particularly the clause mandating real-time transmission, arguing that it strengthens transparency and credibility in the electoral process.
The developments underscore ongoing divisions within the legislature over the appropriate framework for managing election result transmission ahead of future general elections.
What you should know
The House of Representatives experienced a rowdy session after a disputed voice vote on a motion to rescind the Electoral Act Amendment Bill, especially its real-time electronic transmission clause.
While the House had earlier approved mandatory real-time transmission to IReV, the Senate initially rejected it before later approving it with a manual backup option.
A joint conference committee has been set up to harmonise both versions of the bill.
