A member of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Sam Amadi, has called for the amendment of the Electoral Act 2026 to remove the proviso that allows manual transmission of election results where there is no network for electronic transmission.

He made the call on Sunday during the Citizens’ Townhall on the 2026 Electoral Act, describing the amendment as urgent and important.

Amadi argued that if President Bola Tinubu could revert the national anthem in one day, the Electoral Act 2026, which was signed into law last month, could still be amended.

“By default, electronic transmission is now optional. My position is that we can still amend this law; by the way, President Tinubu amended the national anthem in one day. Let there be consensus to amend this section to allow INEC to do their regulation, INEC captures the event of failure,” Amadi said.

Amadi warned that the proviso could create confusion in the electoral process, as officers might decide not to upload results on the basis of poor or unavailable network.

“Communication is not just electronic, this is a bad law, it could go for anything, including poor communication from the headquarters to the polling officer. Even if you have the internet, the polling officer may refuse to transmit on the basis that there was no communication. We should amend this section of the law quickly; it is very important.”

Also speaking at the programme, the Executive Director of YIAGA Africa, Samson Itodo, called on lawmakers to recommence the amendment of the Electoral Act 2026 to expunge the proviso that allows manual transmission of results.

According to him, the proviso negates the core objective behind the push to amend the Electoral Act 2022, which he said was intended to make the electoral process more transparent by reducing human interference.

“I just wish that the lawmakers would eliminate that particular proviso. This is why we made a call to them to commence the process of amending that Act and just delete that particular proviso.

“That way, as a country, we will maximise the utility of electronic transmission of results because it limits human interference, it makes the whole process open and transparent. If politicians are not scared, I see no reason why this was not considered in its full breadth,” he said. (Channels TV)

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