The Digest:
The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) leveraged its dominance in both chambers of the National Assembly to pass the revised Electoral Act Amendment Bill, retaining the manual backup clause for election results transmission. In the Senate, 55 lawmakers—mostly APC—voted to retain the proviso allowing manual collation when electronic transmission fails, defeating 15 opposition senators who insisted on mandatory real-time transmission. The House of Representatives rescinded its earlier pro-transparency position, adopting the Senate's version amid opposition walkouts chanting "APC, ole!" The approved clause states presiding officers shall electronically transmit results, but "if the electronic transmission fails as a result of communication failure... the form EC8A shall remain the primary source of collation." Other amendments include scrapping indirect primaries and reducing election notice from 360 to 300 days to accommodate Ramadan concerns. Opposition lawmakers, civil society protesters including Oby Ezekwesili and Omoyele Sowore, and the PDP condemned the move.
Key Points:
- APC's supermajority (80 of 109 senators, 241 of 360 reps) ensured passage of manual backup clause.
- The 15 opposition senators who voted against are now public figures for transparency advocacy.
- Citizens lose mandatory transmission guarantee, while APC consolidates electoral framework control.
- This signals the ruling party's legislative dominance shaping 2027 election rules.
- The timing, with opposition protests and walkouts, reflects deep democratic tensions.
APC's numerical strength secured passage of the Electoral Bill with manual backup, despite opposition protests and civil society condemnation, setting the stage for 2027.
Sources: Daily Trust, National Assembly, PDP Statement
