Major opposition political parties have condemned the Senate over its decision to reject mandatory real-time electronic transmission of election results from polling units.
This was disclosed in a joint statement issued on Thursday by the spokespersons of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), African Democratic Congress (ADC), and New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) following the passage of amendments to the Electoral Act 2022 by the upper legislative chamber.
In the statement seen by Dockaysworld, the parties described the Senate’s action as retrogressive, warning that it could undermine Nigeria’s democratic gains and weaken public confidence in the electoral process.
They expressed concern that the decision by the APC-led Senate could set the country’s democracy back by several decades, noting that it had already attracted widespread condemnation from Nigerians across political and social divides.
The opposition parties questioned why the ruling All Progressives Congress, which is currently deploying technology for nationwide electronic membership registration, would oppose the use of technology for transmitting election results.
They alleged that the rejection was driven by fear of electoral defeat, arguing that transparent and credible elections posed a threat to the ruling party, which they said was determined to preserve loopholes that could enable manipulation of the process.
The parties also faulted senators for failing to rise above partisan interests, stressing that the legislature ought to act as a custodian of democracy rather than prioritising electoral calculations.
They recalled that courts, including the Supreme Court, had previously ruled that electronic transmission of results was not mandatory under the Electoral Act 2022, a gap they said needed urgent legislative correction to prevent a repeat in future elections.
According to them, beyond its legal significance, mandatory electronic transmission would enhance transparency, trust, and credibility in elections, warning that the Senate’s decision had effectively returned the country to “square one.”
The opposition urged members of the conference committee to align with the House of Representatives by adopting mandatory real-time electronic transmission of results, calling on them to act as statesmen rather than politicians focused solely on the next election.
“With this anti-people and anti-democratic action, we are concerned that the APC-led Senate may have set Nigeria’s democracy back by many decades,” the statement said.
“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.”
