The opposition party argues that electronic transmission would curb vote manipulation and strengthen democratic integrity.
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has urged the Senate to reconsider its decision rejecting the mandatory electronic transmission of election results from polling units to the Independent National Electoral Commission's (INEC) Result Viewing Portal (IREV).
The opposition party said that making electronic transmission compulsory would curb vote-buying and other electoral malpractices.
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The PDP spokesperson, Ini Ememobong, said this in a statement on Wednesday, shortly after the Senate passed an amendment to the Electoral Act.
Mr Ememobong argued that the lawmakers' rejection of electronic transmission shows a lack of commitment to electoral integrity and democratic consolidation.
"This rejection is a clear indication that the National Assembly is not willing or ready to legislate for electoral sanctity and democratic consolidation. This is indeed a sad day for electoral democracy. We hereby call the National Assembly to immediately reconsider its stand on this matter and take steps to pass the amendment approving the electronic transmission of results," he said.
He called on the National Assembly to immediately reconsider its position and approve the electronic transmission of results.
The party also warned that the amendment, if left unchanged, could worsen voter apathy ahead of the 2027 general elections.
"This is the minimum amendment that can increase faith in the electoral process, without which the apathy will be worse than the last general election, which is greatly unhelpful to democracy."
Electoral Act amendment
Earlier on Wednesday, the Senate passed amendments to the 2022 Electoral Act after more than five hours of debate and clause-by-clause consideration.
One of the major decisions taken by the lawmakers was the rejection of the proposal to make the electronic transmission of election results from polling units to the Independent National Electoral Commission's Result Viewing Portal (IREV) mandatory after vote counting.
Instead, under Clause 60, the Senate retained the provision in the 2022 Electoral Act that allows election results to be transmitted to the collation centre.
On voter identification under Clause 47, lawmakers rejected a proposal to allow alternative forms of identification for voting other than the Permanent Voter Card (PVC). Rather, they replaced "smart card readers" with the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) for accreditation and voting, thereby retaining the PVC as the sole mandatory means of identification at polling units.
Initially, the bill had proposed that since BVAS does not read the microchip embedded in PVCs, the card should no longer be compulsory for voting, allowing the use of the National Identification Number (NIN), Nigerian passport, or birth certificate. However, the Senate disagreed with this proposal and retained the PVC as the primary mode of voter identification.
On Clause 22, which prescribes penalties for PVC-related offences, lawmakers rejected a proposed 10-year jail term for the buying and selling of PVCs. Instead, they retained the two-year imprisonment term and increased the fine from ₦2 million to ₦5 million.
Regarding proof of non-compliance, the Senate deleted Clause 142, which would have allowed parties to prove non-compliance solely through original or certified documents without oral evidence. The lawmakers, during the clause-by-clause consideration, argued that the provision would amount to a "waste of time in court."
On ballot paper inspection, Clause 44 retained the existing procedure, which gives political parties two days to submit written approval or disapproval of their representations on sample ballot papers. INEC is also required to invite parties to inspect sample electoral materials at least 20 days before an election.
Under Clause 29, the deadline for political parties to submit their list of candidates was reduced from 120 days to 90 days before the election.
To curb vote buying, lawmakers amended Clause 22 to impose stiffer penalties, increasing the fine for offenders from ₦500,000 to ₦5 million.
On post-election disputes, the Senate amended Clause 136 by removing election tribunals' power to declare winners outright in certain circumstances. The amendment now provides that, where a candidate is found not to have been validly elected for failing to secure a majority of lawful votes, a rerun election shall be conducted, with the disqualified candidate and the sponsoring party barred from participating.
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This section contradicts the provision of the 2022 Electoral Act, which provides that where an election tribunal nullifies an election on the ground that the candidate with the highest votes was not qualified, the candidate with the second-highest number of valid votes should be declared elected.
Appeal to lawmakers
Mr Ememobong urged lawmakers to remember their responsibility to represent the will of the people.
"We charge our lawmakers to remember that they are delegates of power invested in them by the voters in their various constituencies and must endeavour to mirror their desires and wishes at all times. It is common knowledge that the majority of Nigerians all across the 109 Senatorial Districts desire electoral sanctity which is better guaranteed through the electronic transmission of votes from the polling units.
"We are all witnesses to the widespread practice of altering results before it gets to the collation centre or at the collation centre. This electronic transmission would have brought an end to this ignoble practice that has been deployed by politicians to win elections against the wishes of the people expressed through the ballot," he said.
