By Abuja, Nigeria
The Senate during its emergency plenary today adopted electronic transmission of election results with a caveat: in cases where electronic transmission fails due to communication/network issues, the manual result sheet (Form EC8A) would become the primary source for result collation.
The motion was moved by Senator Muhammed Tahir Monguno representing Borno North senatorial district of Borno State, seeking the overturn his earlier motion which adopted the use of transfer instead of transmission in the last legislative sitting.
Recall that after the passage of the electoral act on February 4, which rejected the electronic transmission of election results, there were criticisms from major opposition political parties, civil society organizations and the general public. This led to a peaceful protest at the National Assembly on Monday, February 9, where the 2023 presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi and Activist Aisha Yesufu were present at the protest ground.
After reading out the motion, Senate President Godswill Akpabio put out the question and most senators answered in the affirmative, giving a legal backing to the electronic transmission of election results.
