National Assembly Blocks Electronic Transmission Of Election Results

The national assembly leadership has reportedly squashed a crucial aspect of the electoral act amendment bill.

The national assembly have blocked the proposed electronic transmission of election results in Nigeria, TheCable reports.

The national assembly is set to pass the electoral act amendment bill, but the amendment scuttle the hopes of key reforms that would come with the proposed law.

The bill which seeks to repeal and re-enact the 2010 electoral act has been in the pipes for years.

In 2018, President Muhammadu Buhari refused to sign it into law after arguing that it would affect the conduct of the 2019 elections.

Amid efforts to pass the bill early enough for the next round of general elections in 2023, the joint committees of the senate (INEC) and the house of representatives (electoral matters) set up a technical committee to work on the proposed amendment.

Among the committee’s resolutions is that voting in an election and transmission of results under the act shall be in accordance with the procedure determined by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

But the provision, contained in section 50 (2) of the bill, was modified by the leadership of both chambers in the approved version to read: “Voting in an election under this Bill shall be in accordance with the procedure determined by the Commission, which may include electronic voting, PROVIDED that the Commission shall not transmit results of elections by electronic means.”

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With this development, the hope and optimism of Nigerians to have an electoral system that’s near perfect, free from manipulation and gimmicks appears to have been dashed, if report of the provisions of the new electoral acts are anything to go by.

The 9th national assembly has been severely excoriated by political and social commentators and many citizens, describing the leadership of both legislative chamber as puppets of the executive.

Many are of the view that federal lawmaker have not promulgated laws that have far reaching positive impact on the citizenry but instead kowtow to the demands of the executive and collude with it to pass laws that will undermine political and economic growth, while also blocking attempts to hasten radical social changes in the polity.

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