Rejection Of Electronic Transmission Of Election Results: Why Citizens Need To Invoke Their Power Of Recall

TheNigerialawyer Editorial

One of the front-burner issues agitating Nigeria today, apart from insecurity, is the amendment of the Electoral Act. The most contentious clause in the bill which has raised dust is Clause 52(3) which states that “the commission may transmit results of elections by electronic means where and when practicable.”

The new provision has been welcomed by all and sundry in the country because of its significance. Nigeria has a long history of inconclusive elections heralded by election malpractices like multiple voting, thuggery, stolen ballots and personal intimidation. The proposed use of more technology in the electoral process has been lauded by the citizens as a major way to pave for a transparent and credible elections.

Sadly, most lawmakers are against the new provision. The Senate Deputy Whip, Sabi Abdullahi, took the lead for his caucus, when he moved that the section be amended. He proposed that the amendment should read thus:

“The commission may consider electronic transmission provided the national network coverage is adjudged to be adequate and secure by the Nigerian Communications Commission and approved by the National Assembly”.

When Mr Abdullahi’s position was put to vote, 52 senators voted in favour while 28 voted against, with 28 absentees, exclusive of the Senate President.

Justified or crooked?

Some lawmakers had argued that electronic transmission of electoral results would disenfranchise many Nigerians in the rural areas where there are no network coverages. There is no better way of responding to this submission than calling in aid the words of the Former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) who was also a presidential candidate in the 2019 elections, Professor Kingsley Moghalu, who aptly said that there is nowhere in the world, not even in the United States or advanced countries where electronic coverage is 100 percent all the time. According to him, there are places in the US that when you are traveling to you may not have a network but yet they practice electronic voting. After all the INEC itself has assured that they have alternative ways as backups to ensure a fair outcome for everybody in the country no matter what part of the country one is in.

Thus, the decision of the Senate panel to ban the electronic transmission of results while accepting electronic voting is untenable. Looking at the country’s long and ugly history with election rigging and vote padding using the manual system, it’s quite easy and reasonable to conclude that the lawmakers have heinous intentions in mind.

It is paramount to reiterate the significance of electronic transmission of results. First off, electronic collation means that fewer people have the ability to influence results. The progress of elections can be monitored from anywhere, removing the sole responsibility of credibility from the presiding officer and giving him even less opportunity to tamper with results. This basically defeats the known trend of money sharing to electoral officials at polling points to allow malpractices.

Another fact is that every politician wants to win elections. In their bid to win at all cost, they have mastered the manual method like the palm of their hands and they know how to game the system. The new electronic system is a mystery which they fear may cause them to lose.

We suspect dark motives behind the Senate’s rejection of the electronic transmission of results. Perhaps, is because the collation centres, which are actually business centres will go out of business. Unscrupulous politicians have always used the business, sorry, collation centres, to subvert the will of the people, time and again, and they know that the game may be up if electronic transmission is part of the law. It may explain why the clause is worded with trips and traps that will make INEC and NCC collide, while the National Assembly has already appointed itself the umpire!

We smell desperation by vested interests that do not care for the interests of the suffering majority of Nigerians. As Nigerians yearn for the best that a democratic system of government can deliver, is this the best that our Distinguished Senators can come up with? Must we be stuck with politics of thuggery and elections of ballot box snatching? Technology developed from science to make life and living easier. Why don’t we want it in our electoral system? There seems a grand determination by people questing for power to attain it at all costs.

Hypocrisy

Prior to the development, some senators (whom we wouldn’t want to mention their names) had agreed to collectively push for the inclusion of electronic transmission of results. However, when the issue came up on the floor of the Senate on July 15th, they joined their kith and kin in frustrating it.

Funny enough, some that also made mouth in the media telling the world that they will work towards realization of the smooth passage of the bill in favour of electronic transmission of the results were no where to be found. The following lawmakers (though not all of them deceived the public) were reportedly absent during the voting exercise. Namely, Theodore Orji (PDP-Abia Central), Yaroe Binos Dauda (PDP-Adamawa South), Stella Oduah (PDP-Anambra North), Ike Ekweramadu (PDP-Enugu West), Patrick Ifieanyi Uba (YPP-Anambra South), Adetokunbo Abiru (APC-Lagos East), Bala Ibn Na’Allah (APC-Kebbi South), Tolu Odebiyi (APC-Ogun West), Ibikunle Amosun (APC-Ogun Central), Olalekan Mustapha (APC-Ogun East), Nicholas Tofowomo (PDP-Ondo South), Teslim Folarin (APC-Oyo Central), Buhari Abdulfatai (APC-Oyo North), Aliyu Wamakko (APC-Sokoto North), Ibrahim Shekarau (APC-Kano Central), Lilian Uche Ekwunife (PDP-Anambra Central), Gabriel Suswam (PDP-Benue North-East), Abba Moro (PDP-Benue South), Mohammed Bulkachuwa (APC-Bauchi North), Emmanuel Bwacha (PDP-Taraba South), Mohammed Hassan (APC-Zamfara Central), Olubunmi Adetunmbi (APC-Ekiti North), Chimaroke Nnamani (PDP-Enugu East), Rochas Okorocha (APC-Imo West), Mohammed Sabo (APC-Jigawa South-West), Barau Jibrin (APC-Kano North), Ibrahim Gaidam (APC-Yobe East) and Umar Sadiq (APC-Kwara North).

Concluding Remarks

It appears that lawmakers have waged war against Nigerians. They are trying to do everything possible to perpetuate themselves in office at the detriment of the electorates. They are opposing transparency and accountability. They appear to prefer an election full of thuggery and death. They prefer to imposed themselves on unwilling electorate at the subsequent elections.

It is high time for the citizens to wake up from their slumber and do the needful. They should start invoking their powers under Sections 69 and 110 of the 1999 constitution (as amended) which allows registered voters in a lawmaker’s constituency to recall them if there’s a loss of confidence in the lawmaker. We are also calling on the Senate to give public access to votes of the house to enable the citizens know the type of policies their respective representatives vote for. This will also enable them decide whether to recall them or not.

There is need to draw the attention of the National Assembly to the fact that Nigeria is already a latecomer when it comes to the adoption of electronic transmission of electoral results. Other African countries like Ghana and South Africa that use similar ballot-based voting processes already transmit their election results electronically. Are we to remain in stone forever always allowing misfits to impose themselves on us?

TheNigerialawyer Editorial