Why I sign Nigeria’s Amended Electoral Act–Tinubu

By Barth Ikiebe .

President Bola Tinubu has explained reasons for his decision to sign the Electoral Act 2026 (Amendment) into law, saying the credibility of elections depends more on proper management and human oversight than on real-time electronic transmission of results.

He spoke shortly after signing the amendment at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, amid ongoing controversy over whether election results should be transmitted live from polling units.

“It’s not as important as the history aspects of this. What is crucial is the fact that you manage the process to the extent there will be no confusion, no disenfranchisement of Nigerians, and that we are all going to see democracy flourish,” he stated.

He stressed that regardless of technological systems adopted, elections are ultimately managed and concluded by people.

“No matter how good the system is, it’s managed by the people, promoted by the people, and the result is finalised by the people,” the President said.

Addressing debates over the transmission of election results, Tinubu said final results would not be determined by computers but by designated electoral officials.

He stated, “In fact, for final results, you are not going to be talking to the computer; you are going to be talking to human beings who will announce the final results.

“And when you look at the crux of various arguments, maybe Nigerians should question our broadband capability. How technically are we today? How technically will we be tomorrow to answer the call of either real-time or not?”

The President reiterated that voting remains fundamentally manual, from ballot issuance to counting.

“And as long as you appear personally, as a manual voter in any polling booth, a ballot paper is given to you manually, you decide in a corner and thumbprint the person of your choice, you cast your votes, without hindrance and any interference, ballots are subsequently counted manually, sorted, and counted manually,” Tinubu added.

According to him, what is transmitted electronically is essentially the arithmetic record captured in Form EC8A after manual collation.

“It’s just the arithmetic accuracy that is to enter into Form EC8A. It’s the manual, essentially. The transmission of that manual result is what we’re looking at.

“And we need to avoid glitches — I’m glad you did — interference, unnecessary hacking in this age of computer inquisitiveness.

“Nigeria will be there. We will flourish. We will continue to nurture this democracy for the fulfillment of our dream for the prosperity and stability of our country,” the President added.

The amendment to the Electoral Act became the centre of intense public and legislative debate recently over whether election results should be electronically transmitted in real time from polling units to the INEC central server.

The House of Representatives initially passed a version mandating real-time electronic transmission of results.

However, when the Senate reconsidered the proposed amendment, it retained electronic transmission provisions but stopped short of making real-time uploads mandatory, instead allowing manual collation as a fallback where technology fails.

This raised widespread criticism from opposition parties, civil society organisations, professional bodies and reform advocates, who argued that the provision still created room for manipulation and ambiguity.

The Senate’s decision triggered protests and walkouts within the National Assembly, as lawmakers grappled with the language of Clause 60(3) of the Electoral Act.

Under the final version approved before assent, results are to be electronically transmitted after Form EC8A is signed and stamped at polling units, but if electronic transmission fails due to network challenges, the manually signed result form is to be the basis for collation and declaration.