Proceedings in the House of Representatives turned chaotic on Tuesday as lawmakers clashed over a motion seeking to rescind the passage of the Electoral Act Amendment bill.
Tensions flared after Francis Waive, chairman of the House Committee on Rules and Business, moved a motion to reverse the green chamber’s earlier decision on the bill passed on December 23, 2025.
When Tajudeen Abbas, Speaker of the House, put the motion to a voice vote, the “nays” clearly outweighed the “ayes”. However, Abbas ruled in favour of the “ayes”, triggering loud protests across the chamber.
Lawmakers openly challenged the ruling, shouting in objection. The Speaker’s subsequent attempt to move the House into an executive session was also resisted, but he eventually proceeded despite the opposition.
Background to the dispute
The controversy centres on the Electoral Act Amendment bill and the contentious issue of electronic transmission of election results.
In December, the House adopted a clause mandating the real-time transmission of results from each polling unit to the Independent National Electoral Commission result viewing portal (IReV).
The clause states that presiding officers must electronically transmit results after completing and signing Form EC8A, with countersignatures from candidates or party agents where available.
Earlier this month, the Senate passed its version of the amendment but initially rejected the proposal for mandatory real-time electronic transmission — a move that sparked nationwide criticism and protests.
On Tuesday, the upper chamber reversed itself and approved electronic transmission to IReV, adding that manual collation would serve as a fallback if technological failures occur.
Conference committee set up
Due to the discrepancies between both chambers, the Senate and the House have constituted a conference committee to harmonise their respective versions of the Electoral Act Amendment bill.
Beyond the transmission clause, other sections of the proposed legislation remain contentious.
Civil society organisations have urged the National Assembly to retain the House’s stronger provisions on electronic transmission, warning that weakening the clause could undermine electoral transparency.
As lawmakers reconvene, the fate of the Electoral Act Amendment bill now hangs on the outcome of the harmonisation process.
