Group Warns Real-Time Election Results Transmission Risks Voter Exclusion
- The Nigerian Senate passed the Electoral Act amendment bill while retaining existing provisions on result transmission
- Godswill Akpabio explained that lawmakers only removed the word “real-time” to avoid legal and technical complications
- Nigeria Integrity Watch warned that mandatory real-time transmission could disenfranchise rural voters
Debate over the future of Nigeria’s electoral framework intensified after the Senate passed the Electoral Act 2022 Repeal and Reenactment Amendment Bill 2026, triggering criticism from civil society groups and renewed public scrutiny.
The controversy followed the decision of the upper chamber to retain existing provisions on result transmission rather than make electronic transfer mandatory.
Source: Facebook
Lawmakers declined to approve a proposed amendment to Clause 60, Subsection 3, which sought to compel presiding officers of the Independent National Electoral Commission to transmit polling unit results electronically to the IREV portal in real time after the completion of voting procedures.
Instead, the Senate upheld the current wording of the law, which allows INEC to determine how results are transmitted.
Senate explains decision on transmission
At a public forum during a book launch on legislative responsibilities, Senate President Godswill Akpabio addressed concerns surrounding the amendment. He said the Senate did not abolish electronic transmission of results but only removed a specific wording that could create legal complications.
“All we said during discussion was that we should remove the word ‘real-time’ because if you say real-time, then there is a network or grid failure and the network is not working. When you go to court, somebody will say it ought to have been real-time. That was all we said,” Akpabio stated.
According to him, electronic transmission remains permitted under the law, with INEC retaining the authority to apply it based on prevailing conditions across polling units nationwide.
Source: Facebook
Civil society warns of rural exclusion
Reacting to the Senate’s action, Nigeria Integrity Watch described the push for mandatory real-time transmission as a potential threat to inclusive participation.
In a statement issued on Monday, February 3, and made available to Legit.ng, the group warned that millions of voters in rural and conflict-affected areas could be shut out if elections rely solely on digital systems.
The organisation’s spokesperson, Dr. John Samuel Nang, said weak telecommunications infrastructure in many communities makes seamless digital transmission unrealistic.
“Even making ordinary phone calls has become difficult due to network failures,” Dan musa said.
Nigeria Integrity Watch also pointed to the fragility of the national power grid, cautioning that outages during elections could disrupt the entire process if electronic transmission becomes compulsory.
The group further raised questions about national sovereignty, noting that Nigeria lacks full control over satellite infrastructure used for data transmission.
The organisation recalled past Supreme Court rulings that recognised electronic transmission as supplementary rather than a replacement for manual collation.
It urged stakeholders to focus on improving infrastructure before revisiting proposals for mandatory real-time transmission.
Nigeria Integrity Watch called on the Nigerian Communications Commission and telecom operators to expand nationwide coverage, warning that technology should strengthen democracy rather than limit voter participation.
PDP, ADC and NNPP reject senate’s move
Earlier, Legit.ng reported that major opposition political parties in Nigeria jointly condemned the Senate’s decision to reject a proposal seeking to make real-time electronic transmission of election results from polling units mandatory.
The proposed amendment was reportedly aimed at strengthening transparency in the electoral process by ensuring that results are uploaded immediately after voting, reducing the risk of alteration during manual movement of result sheets.
Proofreading by Funmilayo Aremu, copy editor at Legit.ng.
Source: Legit.ng
