Electoral Act: Opposition pushes back as e-transmission faces firestorm

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The Senate Minority Caucus clarified on Thursday that the Senate did not reject the electronic transmission of election results before the leadership passed the Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill, contrary to widespread media reports.

The clarification came barely 24 hours after the upper chamber came under fire on Wednesday following reports that lawmakers rejected proposals for the electronic transmission of election results and a 10-year ban on vote-buyers and other electoral offenders.

Shortly after the report went viral, Senate President Godswill Akpabio dismissed the claims as misleading.

Akpabio also maintained that lawmakers retained electronic transmission as provided under the 2022 Electoral Act, a distinction he said was necessary to avoid legal and operational ambiguities.