THE Senate has dumped its earlier opposition on e- transmission of election results and voted to allow electronic relaying of election results at the polling units.
The u-turn yesterday was regarded as victory fo my r Nigerians from different walks of life who had put tremendous pressure on the lawmakers.
In reversing itself on Clause 60(3), of the Electoral Act, the senators inserted the caveat that there will be manual backups in the face of glitches while Form EC8A would be retained.
The stage for the u-turn was set when Senate Chief Whip, Mohammed Monguno, moved a motion seeking the reversal of the senate’s rejection of real time relaying of election results from the polling units to the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) Result Viewing Portal (IREV).
In adopting the new proposal, the Senate amended Clause 60 (3), permitting the presiding officer at a polling unit to transmit polls results electronically after Form EC8A has been completed and signed.
Where electronic transmission fails, the Form EC8A will serve as the primary source of election results.
The president of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio stated: “The presiding officer shall electronically transmit the results from each polling unit to the IREV portal after Form EC8A has been signed and stamped by the presiding officer, and/or countersigned by the candidates or polling agents where available at the polling units.
“Provided that if the electronic transmission of the results fails as a result of communication failure, the manually signed and stamped Form EC8A shall be the primary source of collation and declaration of results.”
However, Senate’s reversal has been welcomed with reservations that dwell on suspected loopholes for manipulation.
Electronic transmission is not entirely reliable especially in the face internet unreliability. The backup offered by the adoption of Form EC8A is a clear indication that the system is open for manipulation.
The Crux of The Matter
The Senate’s remarkable volte-face followed significant public outrage over changes to the Electoral Act.
The high point is on provisions governing the electronic transmission of election results.
The Senate has amended Clause 60(3), by removing the requirement for real-time electronic transmission.
The senators retained the 2022 Electoral Act provision granting the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) the discretion to determine how election results are transmitted.
Civil society groups, political parties, politicians demanded mandatory real-time electronic transmission, because it assured the transparency and credibility of elections.
