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By Lizzy Chirkpi
The Senate on Thursday dismissed claims that it had endorsed electronic voting, insisting that its decision only supports the real-time electronic upload of manually collated election results.
Lawmakers clarified that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) currently lacks the infrastructure to conduct e-voting and that such a system has not yet been adopted in Nigeria.
Chairman of the Senate Ad-hoc Committee reviewing the 2026 Electoral Bill, Senator Adeniyi Adegbonmire, made the clarification during an interview on Arise News Channel, where he explained the distinction between real-time transmission of results and electronic voting.
The Senate had set up the seven-member panel to harmonise recommendations from its Committee on Electoral Matters and resolve grey areas in the proposed electoral reforms.
Addressing public reactions to the Senate’s decision, Adegbonmire said Nigeria remains far from transitioning to an e-voting system.
“People need to understand what real-time means. Real-time transmission can only happen if INEC adopts an e-voting system. For now, INEC does not have the capability for e-voting. Maybe in two or three years, we can adopt e-voting. But as of today, INEC has not put an e-voting system in place,” he said.
He blamed widespread confusion on media misinterpretation of the Electoral Bill provisions.
“This is the misconception that the media has brought into play. The provision says the presiding officer will first fill the result manually in Form EC8A. It is that form that will be transmitted to IReV. If we change ‘transmit’ to ‘upload,’ will it change anything? The answer is no,” Adegbonmire explained.
The senator, who also chairs the Senate Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters, stressed that INEC’s Result Viewing Portal (IReV) is strictly for publishing results already declared at polling units.
“IReV is not an e-voting platform. It is a platform meant to publicise election results already declared by presiding officers across the federation,” he stated.
He added, “The Senate never said INEC should not use IReV for the 2027 elections. What IReV does is simply to display results.”
Adegbonmire further noted that the National Assembly cannot alter how IReV functions through legislation.
“Whether we call it upload, transfer or transmission, as long as IReV is used, it will operate the way it was designed. You must first manually complete Form EC8A before anything can be uploaded,” he said.
He emphasised that vote counting in Nigeria remains entirely manual.
“It is not IReV or BVAS that count ballots. Votes are counted manually after polling ends,” he explained.
Using Ondo State as an example, the lawmaker highlighted logistical realities that make uniform voting timelines impossible nationwide.
“In Akure, voting may start at 10:00 a.m., but in riverine areas like Arugbo Ijaw, voting may not begin until 4:00 p.m. Some places require eight hours of travel or boats to access,” he said.
He warned that rigid expectations around real-time uploads could fuel unnecessary disputes.
“If someone sees a result uploaded at 7:00 p.m. when voting ended at 2:00 p.m., they may assume rigging occurred. But internet delays and logistics are real issues,” Adegbonmire cautioned.
“The truth is that you will not see how you voted on IReV because it is not an e-voting platform,” he added.
The senator urged the media and the public to report electoral reforms accurately to avoid tension and misinformation.