The Executive Director of the International Press Centre, Lanre Arogundade, has urged the Nigerian Senate to adopt the House of Representatives’ version of the Electoral Act Amendment Bill to safeguard transparency in the country’s elections.
Speaking in an interview with ARISE News on Tuesday, Arogundade described the Senate’s recent compromise — approving electronic transmission of results while retaining manual collation as a fallback — as a mixed outcome.
“You said on the right hand, and I will say that that is like a step forward. But the left hand, which you mentioned, is like taking another step sideways or maybe backward,” he said.
He explained that the debate over Section 60 of the Electoral Act, which governs result transmission, was rooted in lessons from the 2023 general elections, when INEC’s IREV system enabled electronic transmission from BIVAS to IREV, despite a glitch in the presidential election.
“It is true that we talk about a glitch. But the reality is that the transmission to IREV did not have any problem in all the elections. The House of Reps, the Senate — all of them got elected because of the benefits of that process. In that regard, it would be wrong for us now to begin to anticipate failure in the law that we are trying to introduce.”
Arogundade stressed the importance of giving legal backing to electronic transmission to strengthen electoral credibility.
“It is very, very significant. If the idea of real-time electronic transmission is accepted, it gives us two means of verification: the results transmitted electronically and those at the collation centres.”
He added that proposed amendments would require designated election officials to transmit results directly from polling units and collation centres to a public portal, enabling parties and citizens to cross-check discrepancies before official collation.
“What is being proposed by civil society organisations and the amendments is that the designated election official shall electronically transmit all election results in real time, including the number of accredited voters, directly from the polling units and collation centres to a public portal.”
Beyond electronic transmission, Arogundade highlighted other provisions in the amendment bill aimed at improving electoral fairness, particularly around verification and post-election review.
“The proposal is that requests for a review of results should not be left to the discretion of INEC alone. Political parties, candidates, and their agents should be able to call for a review if they suspect discrepancies. This could even minimise litigations that normally follow elections, as INEC would demonstratively satisfy parties that the results are accurate.”
He warned that partial adoption of reforms could weaken transparency and called on legislators to fully embrace measures that enhance public confidence in the electoral process.
“Our position is that the Senate should have adopted that of the House of Representatives, in the sense that we can still have electronic transmission of results with legal backing.”
Arogundade emphasised that proper implementation of these reforms could strengthen Nigeria’s democracy ahead of the 2027 general elections, providing multiple verification channels and reinforcing trust in the electoral system.
Boluwatife Enome
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