Tinubu signs Electoral Act Amendment Bill 2026 despite electronic transmission controversy
President Bola Tinubu signed the Electoral Act Amendment Bill 2026 into law on Wednesday, retaining Clause 60 which makes electronic transmission of election results optional. The bill passed both chambers of the National Assembly after months of debate, with the Senate reversing its earlier position to mandate electronic transmission. Clause 60 allows results to be transmitted to INEC's Result Viewing Portal only if feasible, with Form EC8A serving as backup during internet failures. Critics argue this undermines transparency, while Tinubu maintains Nigeria lacks technical capacity for mandatory real-time transmission and that manual collation prevents hacking. The amendment maintains manual ballot counting and result collation as primary methods. Will Nigeria's broadband infrastructure support mandatory electronic transmission, or does this amendment protect against technical vulnerabilities?