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It’s Done: Reps, Senate Pass Electronic Transmission Bill for 2027—But Drop Strict ‘Real-Time’ Mandate

Politics Desk

ABUJA — The National Assembly has finally cleared the biggest hurdle for the 2027 General Election.

In a dramatic concurrent session on Wednesday, February 18, 2026, both the Senate and the House of Representatives successfully passed the Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill 2026, officially legalizing the electronic transmission of results from polling units to the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV).

With both chambers now in agreement, the Clerk of the National Assembly is expected to transmit the clean copy of the bill to President Bola Tinubu for assent within 7 days. Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) have already signaled they will petition the President to withhold assent until the “Real-Time” clause is restored, setting the stage for a final showdown before the 2027 campaigns officially kick off.

However, the passage came with a significant caveat. Following a heated harmonization process, lawmakers voted to remove the word “Real-Time” from the final text, replacing it with a “Network-Dependent” transmission clause that allows for manual fallbacks.

The “Real-Time” Battle Lost?

The House of Representatives, which had initially insisted on a strict “Real-Time” mandate, backed down yesterday to align with the Senate’s position.

  • The Senate’s Argument: Senators argued that mandating “real-time” transmission would legally disenfranchise voters in rural areas with poor network coverage, as any delay in upload could render the election in those units invalid.
  • The Compromise: The passed bill now mandates “Electronic Transmission” but adds a proviso: “Transmission shall be initiated at the Polling Unit and completed as soon as network availability permits, or at the nearest Registration Area Center (RAC).”

Opposition Walks Out

The decision to drop the “Real-Time” clause triggered chaos in the Green Chamber. Minority Leader Kingsley Chinda led a walkout of opposition lawmakers, accusing the ruling party of “sanitizing the bill for rigging.” “We wanted a law that forces the result to hit the server the moment the last ballot is counted,” Chinda told reporters outside the complex. “What they have passed is ‘Delayed Transmission,’ which gives room for magic.”

House Spokesman Defends the “Pragmatic” Bill

House Spokesman Rep. Akin Rotimi defended the amendment as a “victory for pragmatism over emotion.” Speaking to nuus.ng, Rotimi clarified that the bill still makes Electronic Transmission mandatory. “We have not killed technology; we have saved it from technicalities,” Rotimi explained. “If we insist on ‘Real-Time’ in the law, and a server jams for 10 minutes in a village in Ekiti, that election becomes void. We have passed a law that works for Nigeria’s reality, not its fantasy.”

What Next?

With both chambers now in agreement, the Clerk of the National Assembly is expected to transmit the clean copy of the bill to President Bola Tinubu for assent within 7 days. Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) have already signaled they will petition the President to withhold assent until the “Real-Time” clause is restored, setting the stage for a final showdown before the 2027 campaigns officially kick off.