A heated debate broke out in the House of Representatives on Tuesday as lawmakers clashed over a proposal to reverse the earlier approval of the Electoral Act Amendment Bill, which mandates real-time electronic transmission of election results.
The motion, introduced by the Chairman of the House Committee on Rules and Business, Francis Waive, sought to align the House’s position with that of the Senate regarding the transmission of results. The bill had originally been passed on December 23.
Tensions escalated when Speaker Tajudeen Abbas called for a voice vote. Although the “nays” appeared louder, he ruled in favour of the “ayes,” sparking loud protests from several lawmakers. The disruption forced the Speaker to call for an executive session.
When the House passed the Electoral Act in December 2025, it made real-time transmission of polling unit results to the IReV portal compulsory. The provision states that, “presiding officer shall electronically transmit the results from each polling unit to the IReV portal in real time, and such transmission shall be done after the prescribed form EC8A has been signed and stamped by the presiding officer and/or countersigned by the candidates or polling unit agents, where available at the polling unit”.
The Senate, however, initially rejected the real-time transmission clause in its own version of the bill. The decision triggered public criticism and calls for reconsideration. Last Tuesday, the upper chamber reversed its stance and approved electronic transmission to IReV, but included manual collation as a backup in case of technical problems.
To resolve the differences, both chambers have set up a joint conference committee to reconcile their versions of the legislation.
Meanwhile, opposition parties are urging the National Assembly to retain the House’s position, particularly the “real-time” transmission requirement.
