Electoral Act: Real-time debate based on misunderstanding

By Lawrence Agbo

The Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Electoral Matters, Adebayo Balogun, has said the uproar over the proposed amendment to Section 60 of the Electoral Act is rooted in what he described as a misunderstanding of the term “real time.”

In an interview on ARISE News on Thursday, Balogun clarified that the debate does not question the integrity of elections but rather reflects different interpretations of how real-time transmission should operate.

“What has been the contentious for us is, it is about the issue of real time. I think that’s the major problem that we have,” he said.

According to him, stakeholders consulted before the House passed its version of the amendment did not object to the inclusion of real-time transmission. He noted that controversy intensified only after the Senate’s version sparked wider public discussion.

“So, the major contentious word there is in real time,” he stated.

Balogun said many Nigerians assume real-time transmission means live broadcasting of results on a public dashboard.

“Taking real time to be at least like a display of results coming in that you’ll be seeing on a dashboard, like when you’re watching CNN,” he added.

He warned that such expectations could generate fresh disputes if the process does not unfold in that manner, referencing complaints that followed the 2022 general elections.

Balogun maintained that real-time transmission, in its strict sense, is possible only under a fully electronic voting system.

“That means, if it doesn’t happen that way, then we’ll have another issue, like we had during the 2022 election, when INEC was accused of over-promising.

“Real-time can only come when you are voting electronically. It is the result you are just transferring, or transmitting, or whatever you decide to use.”

On the INEC Result Viewing (IReV) portal, he dismissed claims that it serves as a public viewing centre.

“So when people call it a viewing center, I find that to be misleading, because you are not going to be viewing it from anywhere. It’s you that must view it. So it’s not a general viewing center.”

He emphasised that the legally recognised document remains the physical Form EC8A completed and signed at polling units.

Citing the Electoral Act, he said:

“The presiding officer shall, after counting the votes at the polling unit, enter the vote scored by his candidate on the form to be prescribed by both the commission and the EC8A. The form shall be signed and stamped by the presiding officer and can be signed by the candidate or all the agents who are available at the polling unit. The commission shall electronically transmit the results from each polling unit to the IReV portal in real time. And such transmission shall be done simultaneously with the physical collation of results.”

Balogun urged stakeholders to rely strictly on the wording of the law rather than assumptions.

“Let’s always live by the details of the law. It’s not about what we feel. We don’t bring sentiment to this. We don’t speak before when issues like this arises. And as I said, let’s live with verbatim what it says. Most of the time we only assume and we only think out of what the law is saying.”

Addressing the planned forthcoming harmonisation between the House and Senate versions of the amendment, he cautioned against framing the process as a disagreement between the two chambers.

“Don’t make it House versus Senate. That’s what we are saying. It’s about what is the better version. What are the issues on ground? When we get to the meeting, there will be discussion. Everybody will present their own facts. And at the end of the day, we’ll take a position.”

He added that the conference committee would have equal representation from both chambers and decisions would be reached through deliberation and voting where necessary.

Balogun also praised the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS), describing it as a significant safeguard in Nigeria’s electoral framework.

“One of the best things that’s actually happening in this process is the BVAS, that ensures accreditation, digital accreditation, biometric accreditation, and that’s the best you can get in any part of the world.”

As deliberations continue, Balogun insisted that public discourse on the amendment should be guided by clarity and fidelity to the law.