The resolution of the Senate to amend Clause 60 of the Electoral Act has been described as a brazen affront to the sovereign will of Nigerians.
Olufemi Aduwo, Permanent Representative of the Centre for Convention on Democratic Integrity (CCDI) to the ECOSOC/United Nations, stated this in a release on reaction to the resolution of the Senate.
The Permanent Representative of the CCDI, an organisation with Consultative Status of United Nations, further declared that the amendment was an egregious dereliction of legislative duty.
The Senate recently amended Clause 60 of the Electoral Act, permitting electronic transmission of election results merely “where possible” while preserving the hard-copy Form EC8A as the primary fallback.
“This tepid, conditional provision falls far short of the reforms demanded by an electorate weary of recurring electoral malfeasance.
“In stark contrast, the House of Representatives’ version unequivocally mandated real-time transmission to the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV), enshrining immediacy, verifiability, and unassailable transparency.
“By diluting these safeguards, the Senate has left avenues open for manipulation, alteration, and the very scourge of “mutilated result sheets” that have long undermined Nigeria’s democratic process,” he said.
Aduwo stated that the Joint Committee of both chambers of the National Assembly coalesced around the House’s robust formulation, which fully embodies the integrity, speed, and accountability the citizenry has insistently demanded.
“Any deviation is not mere legislative compromise; it constitutes a calculated subversion of electoral probity.
“Real-time electronic transmission is not a negotiable concession or technological luxury. It is an indispensable bulwark against fraud,” he added.
Aduwo further stated that the IReV portal must be recognised, not as a passive viewing repository, or as some judicial pronouncements have suggested, but as an integral co-collation instrument.
“The era of tampered, delayed, or mutilated physical result sheets entering the official record must be consigned to history.
“By retaining archaic fallbacks without stringent safeguards, the Senate has effectively licensed electoral brigandage under the guise of pragmatism,” he added.
The CCDI Permanent Representative to ECOSOC/UN also stated that Nigerians deserved nothing less than full electoral integrity.
He urged Nigerians to demand for the full electoral integrity through mandatory real-time electronic transmission, “with IReV elevated to its rightful status.”
