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Victor Umeh, senator representing Anambra central, says more than 85 percent of senators supported electronic transmission of election results during deliberations on the Electoral Act amendment.
On Wednesday, the senate retained the provision for electronic transmission of results as contained in the Electoral Act 2022.
The red chamber, however, rejected proposals for real-time transmission of results and a 10-year ban on vote buyers, opting to keep existing penalties of fines or jail terms.
The clarification followed public criticism after reports suggested lawmakers rejected electronic transmission and tougher sanctions for electoral offences.
Speaking on Thursday during an appearance on Channels Television’s ‘Politics Today’, Umeh said claims that the senate rejected electronic transmission misrepresented the chamber’s decision.
He said the resolution followed an extensive legislative process involving readings, consultations and public hearings nationwide.
“It takes a process to make a law. A bill must go through readings, public hearings and consultations before debate and passage. Law is not made by the national assembly alone. It is made by carrying Nigerians along,” he said.
Umeh added that the disputed nature of the 2023 elections heightened public expectations that the amended electoral law would strengthen credibility and public confidence in future polls.
The lawmaker said the amendment of Clause 60 of the Electoral Act 2022, which deals with the transmission of results, enjoyed unanimous support during the senate’s consultations.
He added that the issue dominated retreats, zonal public hearings and joint sessions held by the national assembly on the bill.
“It is good to say that in all these retreats, all these zonal public hearings, all the consultations and joint sessions we had, one issue received unanimous approval and demand from the public, and that is to amend Clause 60 of the Electoral Act of 2022 as it affects transmission of results,” he said.
Umeh reiterated that stakeholders agreed to explicitly provide for the electronic transmission of results to avoid future legal ambiguities.
“It is based on these that all the stakeholders decided that this amendment will provide for the electronic transmission of results, so that where there is a dispute again, the court will not say that it is unknown to law,” he said.
The legislator added that both chambers worked separately on the amendment, noting that the house of representatives had already passed its version with clear provisions for electronic transmission.
‘THERE WAS NO DEBATE ON TRANSMISSION’
The Anambra senator said an eight-member ad hoc committee set up by Senate President Godswill Akpabio also retained the electronic transmission provision in its report to the senate.
“Of course, it was debated exhaustively, because their committee retained the electronic transmission of results on what they brought back to the senate,” he said.
“Over 85 percent of senators agreed to electronic transmission. It was common ground. Even the ad hoc committee of the senate agreed to it.”
Umeh also faulted claims that the provision was expunged during plenary, saying no such debate took place.
“Eventually, I heard that somebody said they want to expunge ‘transmission’ and somebody seconded. It was not debated,” he said.
“If such a major alteration to what has been generally agreed to were to come up again, it would be thrown open again. We didn’t debate anything like that.”
He said polling unit results are to be transmitted electronically to IReV, adding that the only modification agreed to was the removal of the phrase “in real-time”, due to concerns that technical delays could arise.
