The reform everyone agreed on — at first
For months, the push to mandate real-time electronic transmission of election results appeared settled within the National Assembly. Lawmakers from across party lines publicly acknowledged that the controversies of the 2023 general election demanded firmer safeguards at polling-unit level.
At the centre of that push was a proposal to compel presiding officers of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to upload polling-unit results to the IReV portal immediately after votes were counted and results signed.
Few expected it to fail.
Then it died on the Senate floor
Where the bill quietly gained momentum
The first endorsement came during joint sessions of the House of Representatives and Senate Committees on Electoral Matters, where the proposal was adopted as a key transparency reform.
It survived a second review by an eight-member Senate Ad-hoc Committee, made up of lawmakers from the APC, PDP and Labour Party. According to multiple National Assembly sources, the committee debated the clause extensively and recommended real-time electronic transmission to the Senate.
That recommendation, sources said, was carried forward without dissent.
What changed between executive session and the floor
A third approval followed during a closed-door Senate executive session, where a majority of senators reportedly backed the proposal.
But when the Senate reconvened as a Committee of the Whole to consider the bill clause by clause, the atmosphere shifted. Although many senators still spoke in favour of the reform, the proposed amendment to Clause 60 was ultimately voted down.
The same provision that had passed earlier checkpoints collapsed at the final hurdle.
Yet the final vote went the other way.That’s where power really showed.
How leadership dynamics reshaped the vote
National Assembly sources point to resistance from within the Senate leadership as the decisive factor. While the majority view on the floor appeared to favour mandatory transmission, a handful of influential voices argued against codifying “real-time” uploads.
Presiding over the session, Godswill Akpabio rejected claims that the Senate had rolled back reform.
“Electronic transmission has always been part of our law,” Akpabio said. “What we did was to retain what worked in 2022. We are moving forward, not backwards.”
Critics counter that retaining discretion was precisely the problem.
Why process matters more than numbers
The defeat of the clause has reignited debate about how decisions are ultimately made in parliamentary systems. Analysts note that while committees and executive sessions shape legislation, final outcomes are often determined by agenda control, framing and leadership direction on the floor.
In this case, a reform that survived technical scrutiny and cross-party review failed at the point where political risk was highest.
Who benefits from the reversal
Opposition figures were swift to react. Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar accused the Senate of protecting incumbents by preserving a system vulnerable to manipulation.
“Real-time electronic transmission is a democratic safeguard,” Atiku said in a statement. “To reject it is to cling to opacity and protect loopholes.”
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) described the decision as “shameful,” warning that it would deepen voter apathy and erode confidence ahead of 2027.
Why this episode refuses to fade
Beyond the fate of one clause, the episode has exposed the fragile line between legislative consensus and final authority. The same Senate that approved shorter election timelines and stiffer penalties for electoral offences declined to lock in the reform most closely tied to public trust.
As preparations for the 2027 general election quietly begin, the question remains unresolved.
What this means for the next election
The rejection ensures that electronic transmission remains permitted but not compulsory, leaving timing and method at the discretion of INEC.
When the next election is contested, the debate will return — not as theory, but as evidence.
And when it does, this reversal will be the reference point.
This is IDNN. Independent. Digital. Uncompromising.
