The February 2026 National Assembly’s decline in approving only Mandatory Real-Time Transmission of Election results that would be justiciable and their insertion of a controversial clause allowing results to be manually transfered and compiled has activated worrisome dark clouds in Nigeria’s democracy. Considering the happenings of the 2023 gross mutilation of election results across elections, this step has been widely criticized by civil society groups, election experts, and many voters as a regression in electoral integrity and transparency.
Unfortunately this legislative choice by the APC led legislators as compelled by their loyalty to their party leadership wasn’t a neutral procedural decision. It was, in its effect, an unspoken legislative sentence to the persistence of electoral opacity; a backward step in the fight against election manipulation, thuggery and mob action.
Let us look at the few gains we would have enjoyed from the approval of Real-Time Manadatory Electronic Transmission of election results.
The mandatory real time transition of election results will enable the following;
1. That votes cast, counted and the results at polling units across the country would be uploaded securely to a central server accessible by the candidates, media, civil society, parties, and the public.
2. The data of voting results as transmitted on the IREV will be justiciable and stands as the only tool to declare elections.
3. Reduce opportunities for manipulation during transit and collation.
4. Improve public confidence in outcomes.
5. Help curb fraudulent result tampering that has marred past polls.
6. Align Nigeria with international best practices adopted in other democracies.
7. Discourage electoral umpires from attractive compromises by politicians as their request would be difficult to achieve.
8. Stop political thuggery, body harm or death of election umpires and voters at large.
9. It will also stop the attractive compromises of the security agencies on election duties for the simple fact that the request of the politicians will be difficult to achieve.
It is not news any more how much tension, debate and protest this subject of electoral amendment has triggered in the past weeks. For those who have not been following up it will be my pleasure to give you a catch up summary; that when the subject of Mandatory real-time electronic transmission of results were first raised during the electoral act amendment debates on the floor of the Senate it was declined while their counterpart in the House of Representatives initially approved it with fine details.
The initial accent by the House of Representatives attracted widespread support from youth groups, technology advocates, and international partners. Yet, its journey through the Akpabio-led Senate, Judiciary Committee and plenary signified a black era for Nigeria democracy.
What the National Assembly did rather than adhere to intenational best electoral practices. The Akpabio-led leadership allowed the removal of decisive language that would have compelled the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to mandatorily use only secure electronic transmission technologies in all elections; presidential, gubernatorial, and legislative. By so doing they succeeded in not capturing mandatory real-time transmission of election results as the only legal requirement for declaring of election results.
In its place, the APC legislators grudgingly eserted their magority in their loyalty to their leadership by inserting a compromise clause that permits manual transfer of results with the excuse of network failure. In practice, this preserves the status quo: ballot papers snatching, thuggery, result sheets mutilation, undue interference by party agents, security personnel and politicians.
Let us also review the consequences of this deliberate choice made by the Akpabio led national assembly:
1. Opportunity for Interference: Manual transfer creates windows where results can be altered, delayed, or suppressed.
2. Opacity Over Transparency: Without real-time visibility, the public is left to rely on official releases long after voting ends often amid allegations of foul play.
3. Erosion of Trust: Citizens yearning for credible elections see this as legislative resistance to accountability.
Why This Matters; In past elections, Nigerians have watched results shift dramatically through acts of electoral fraud when compared with final declarations. Mandatory real-time electronic transmission of election results has the potential to shrink that space for manipulation by providing immediate, verifiable data.
Opinion molders and critics argue that the Akpabio-led National Assembly’s actions were influenced by political calculations; a reflection of the reluctance by incumbents or power holders to embrace changes that could undermine their control over electoral outcomes.
In essence, by rejecting mandatory electronic transmission of election results and deleberately reaffirming manual processes, the Akpabio-led National Assembly has;
1. Signaled their preference for tactics that will aid them fraudulently remain in power over electoral integrity.
2. Undermined efforts to modernize Nigeria’s electoral system.
3. Legitimalized politically convenient loophole for electoral fraud and election rigging.
This is a major setback; a decision with real consequences for millions who hoped for a more transparent electoral processes. This will open the door to the same dark tactics of yesteryears that have stifled credible democracy.
The decision by the Akpabio-led National Assembly was not merely a legislative amendment; it was a sculpted international emblem of Nigeria’s failure in the struggle for individual political power balance against democratic accountability.
By sidestepping the mandate for mandatory real-time electronic transmission of election results, the National Assembly sent an unspoken message: that traditional practices that enables electoral fraud remain more comfortable to them than bold steps toward electoral integrity and transparency.
For Nigeria’s democracy, this upset may be one of the most consequential unspoken legislative sentences of all thereby putting lives at stake.
Ikenga Jonjude Okere
Chairman Imo PDP Caretaker Committee
