The Senate has passed the Electoral Act 2022 (Repeal and Reenactment) Amendment Bill 2026, but rejected a clause seeking to make electronic transmission of election results mandatory.
The upper chamber opted to retain the existing provision, which gives INEC discretion on the mode of result transmission, rather than mandating real-time upload to the IREV portal.
Lawmakers also voted to keep the penalty for buying and selling Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) at two years imprisonment, while raising the fine from ₦2 million to ₦5 million, rejecting a proposed 10-year jail term.
Other amendments include reducing the notice period for elections from 360 days to 180 days and cutting the timeline for submission of candidate lists from 180 days to 90 days.
A conference committee has been set up to harmonize the bill with the House of Representatives version.
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