Prominent Nigerians condemn Senate’s rejection of electronic results transmission
Prominent Nigerians have strongly criticised the Senate’s decision to reject mandatory electronic transmission of election results, citing the move as a threat to transparency and credibility ahead of the 2027 general elections.
At a public presentation of “The Burden of Legislators in Nigeria” at the NAF Conference Centre, on Monday in Abuja, Senator David Mark, former Senate President and National Chairman of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), reiterated his party’s unwavering demand for real-time electronic transmission of results.
“The National Assembly should pass the law and let INEC complain if there is a problem,” Mark said, emphasising that electoral laws should protect the integrity of votes, not pre-emptively limit them.
Mark’s remarks were in response to Senator Godswill Akpabio, who argued that infrastructure challenges such as electricity and internet deficits in rural areas could impede real-time transmission.
Mark countered that citing infrastructure as a reason at the lawmaking stage weakens public confidence.
A coalition of political activists, the Movement for Credible Elections (MCE), including Comrade Ayuba Wabba, Dr. Usman Bugaje, Barrister Femi Falana, Dr. Oby Ezekwesili, Prof. Pat Utomi, and others, described the Senate’s action as democratic sabotage.
“Mandatory electronic transmission is a minimum safeguard against result tampering, ballot rewriting, and post-election fraud.
”Any legislature that blocks it is defending a corrupt system,” the group said in a statement.
The ADC Diaspora Roundtable also condemned the Senate for deleting the phrase “real-time” from the provisions, warning that the move undermines public confidence and risks reopening wounds from disputed elections in 2023.
Similarly, the Youth-led Electoral Reform Project (YERP-Naija) Consortium expressed disappointment, describing the Senate’s decision as a setback to public confidence in electoral integrity.
The consortium urged the harmonisation process between the Senate and the House of Representatives to adopt reforms aligned with citizens’ and youth expectations.
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) weighed in, demanding that the amended Electoral Act provide an unambiguous mandate for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to electronically transmit and collate results from polling units in real-time.
The NLC warned that failure to do so could spark mass action, boycotts, or protests before, during, and after the elections.
“This lack of clarity undermines public trust and is deeply troubling for our democracy.
”Nigerians deserve a transparent electoral process where their votes are not only counted but seen to count,” NLC President Joe Ajaero stated.
The widespread criticism underscores growing pressure on the National Assembly to ensure that the 2027 elections are credible, transparent, and technologically safeguarded, in line with citizens’ expectations for fair and accountable governance.
