The House of Representatives amid rowdy sessions on Tuesday, passed the Electoral Act 2026.
The Spokesperson of the House, Rep. Akin Rotimi who described the passage as historic, said that it had nothing to do with political party membership.
“Yes, the opposition staged a walk out, but it is on record that some of the opposition stayed back and voted for the passage,” he said.
The spokesperson said the decision of the house was for the progress of Nigeria.
According to him, if there are issues with electronically transmitting the results, then it will go manual.
He explained that there was no confusion in the amendment but a response to the yearnings of Nigerians.
Rotimi, however, expressed confidence in the country’s democratisation process, saying that the division in the house is the beauty of democracy.
Meanwhile, the Minority Caucus in the House of Representatives has rejected manual transmission of election results or any other means that may give room for manipulation.
The Minority Leader, Rep. Kingsley Chinda, stated this at a news conference in Abuja on Tuesday.
“We are against any clause that will give room for manipulation; we are in full support of electronic transmission.
“We are also saying that electronically transmitted results should take precedence over manual transmission,” Chinda said.
He said that the minority caucus would not tolerate any attempt to violate section 84 of the Electoral Act that was prescribed for selection of candidates internally by political parties.
According to him, the section prescribes a method of selection of candidates as internal party affairs and not to force political parties into direct or indirect primaries or consensus.
(NAN) (www.nannews.ng)
