2027: Opposition blasts Senate for rejecting e-transmission of poll results

By Luminous Jannamike

ABUJA — Major opposition parties have jointly criticised the Senate’s rejection of mandatory real-time electronic transmission of election results from polling units in the ongoing amendment of the Electoral Act, warning that the decision could undermine the credibility of the 2027 general elections and weaken public confidence in Nigeria’s democratic process.

In a joint statement signed by the National Publicity Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Comrade Ini Ememobong; National Publicity Secretary of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi; and National Publicity Secretary of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Bamofin Ladipo Johnson, the parties said the development had raised serious national concern and compelled them to jointly address Nigerians.

“The grave implications of this retrogressive act by the Senate has compelled us as spokespersons of the major opposition political parties to jointly address this issue, which is capable of derailing our hard-earned democracy.

“We are at a loss as to why a party that is currently deploying technology to run an e-registration of their members across the country is averse to using technology to transmit results,” the opposition parties said.

They further alleged that the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), which controls both chambers of the National Assembly, was seeking to preserve weaknesses in the electoral system that could be exploited during elections.

“They know Nigerians are fed up with them. They are aware of the rejection that awaits them at the forthcoming polls. A free and fair election has therefore become a threat to them. This is why they have to preserve and protect any loopholes that could aid the manipulation of the electoral process to their advantage.

“However, regardless of their party affiliation, we would have expected the Senators to rise above party sentiments and act in the best interest of democracy, for which the legislature remains its most important symbol. But as usual, they failed the people they are supposed to represent,” they added.

Referencing past judicial rulings, the parties noted that courts had previously held that electronic transmission of results was not expressly mandated under the Electoral Act 2022, describing the current amendment process as an opportunity to correct that gap and improve transparency in future elections.

“With this rejection, the Senate has returned Nigeria to square one. The ball is now in the court of the conference committee, and we strongly urge its members to align themselves with the Nigerian people by adopting the position of the House of Representatives on mandatory real-time electronic transmission of election results,” they stated.

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