Nigeria awaits first ‘electronic’ polls as Buhari signs new law

Nigeria’s President, Muhammadu Buhari has signed the Electoral Act Amendment Bill 2021 into law.

The signing ceremony took place inside the Council Chambers of the Presidential Villa, Abuja at about 12:30 pm on Friday.

Africa’s most populous nation votes in keenly awaited presidential polls in 2023 and the amended law will allow for electronic collation of the results from across the country.

In past elections, manual collation has been blamed for widespread rigging. Processes will now be put in place to ensure polling stations can also transmit their result electronically.

Buhari will not be a candidate in 2023 because he has served his two constitutional mandates. His ruling APC and main opposition PDP have yet to elect their flagbearers

Among those present, while the President was assenting to the bill includes the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission INEC, Mahmood Yakubu; President of the Senate, Ahmed Lawan among others.

The assent is coming a few days after a coalition of civil society organisations staged a protest to compel the president to assent to the amended document.