Opposition lawmakers walk out of plenary over manual collation clause in Electoral Act amendment

Opposition members of the House of Representatives staged a walkout during Tuesday’s plenary in protest against a controversial provision in the Electoral Act amendment bill allowing manual collation of election results as a backup.

The lawmakers exited the chamber after their proposal to make electronic transmission of results mandatory without any fallback to manual collation was rejected.

The amendment to Section 60(3) states that the presiding officer shall electronically transmit results from each polling unit to the result viewing portal after Form EC8A has been duly signed and stamped. However, it also provides that where electronic transmission fails due to communication challenges, the signed Form EC8A will serve as the primary source for collation and declaration of results.

Opposition legislators argued that the provision should end after the clause mandating electronic transmission, effectively removing the allowance for manual collation in cases of technological failure.

### Background

In December, the lower chamber amended the Electoral Act to mandate real time transmission of results to the portal of the Independent National Electoral Commission, known as INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV).

Earlier this month, the Senate initially rejected real time electronic transmission but later reversed its position, approving it with a clause allowing manual collation if technology fails.

### Rowdy session

Tensions rose during plenary when Francis Waive, chairman of the committee on rules and business, moved a motion to rescind the chamber’s earlier decision on the bill.

When the speaker, Tajudeen Abbas, called for a voice vote, the “nays” appeared louder than the “ayes,” but he ruled in favour of the “ayes,” triggering loud protests from lawmakers.

Attempts to move into an executive session were initially resisted, but the speaker eventually proceeded despite objections.