Leading Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) in Nigeria have called on the joint conference committee set up by the debate and House of Representatives to adopt the lower chamber’s position on electoral transmission.
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The Coalition’s position was contained in a statement on Senate’s Revised Clause 60(3) on Electronic Transmission, jointly issued by Centre for Media and Society (CEMESO), The Kukah Centre, International Press Centre (IPC), Elect Her, Nigerian Women Trust Fund, TAF Africa and Yiaga Africa.
While noting that the electronic transmission with embedded loopholes undermines electoral integrity, the group maintained that the “conditions in the clause signals electoral setback and it weakens the safeguards in the 2022 Electoral Act.
“The position of the House of Representatives on electoral transmission should be adopted.
“On February 10th, the Senate at its emergency plenary session rescinded its earlier decision on electronic transmission and adopted a provision to permit electronic transmission of polling unit results under Clause 60(3) in the Electoral Bill.
“The revised clause now mandates electronic transmission of results from polling units,” as long as it does not fail,” while designating Form EC8A as the primary source of election results.
“Additionally, the Senate has expanded its conference committee membership from six to twelve members to align with the House of Representatives.
The undersigned CSO advancing electoral integrity welcomes the Senate’s decision to rescind its earlier rejection of mandatory electronic transmission of election results from polling units.
“However, we express serious concerns about the following insertions in Clause 60(3); the ‘Failure’ Clause creates dangerous ambiguity: The conditional language “provided if it fails and it becomes impossible to transmit” introduces troubling discretion in the results management process.
“The bill does not define what constitutes failure, how such failure is to be documented, or what verification mechanisms must apply. In the absence of clear safeguards, this clause risks creating a loophole that could undermine the very purpose of electronic transmission.
“Form EC8A as ‘Primary Source’: A Question of Hierarchy: A Question of Hierarchy: Designating Form EC8A as the primary source of results may confirm that polling unit results are legally important.
“However, it raises concerns about the legality and enforceability of electronically transmitted results. If the electronic copy is not treated equally, its value as a transparency safeguard could be weakened.
“Electronic transmission is not a symbolic reform. It is a structural safeguard designed to reduce manipulation between polling unit declaration and collation. Its strength lies in creating an immediate, verifiable audit trail. Making it optional or conditionally applied weakens its deterrent effect.
“The undersigned civil society organisations therefore call on the Conference Committee of the National Assembly to: 1. Adopt the provision on mandatory electronic transmission as passed by the House of Representatives with proposed modification.
“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, and the transmitted result shall be used to verify any other result before it is collated.
“Adopt the position of the House of Representatives, which approves downloadable missing and unissued voters’ cards to prevent potential voter disenfranchisement. Ensure meaningful civil society and technical expert participation in the conference committee deliberations.
“Nigerian citizens have demonstrated through consistent advocacy that they demand and deserve transparent, credible elections. The Senate’s reversal shows that sustained civic pressure produces results. However, the work is not complete.
“We call on all Nigerians civil society organisations, media, and technology experts. political parties, and citizens to remain vigilant and engaged as this legislation moves through the conference committee. The details matter. The credibility of future elections depends on getting this right.”
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