The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) deserves commendation and support for insisting on electronic transmission of election results. The electoral umpire had recently asked the National Assembly to revisit the Electoral Act Amendment Bill it passed in July 2021, assuring that it had the capacity and technical knowhow to transmit election results throughout the country electronically.
Clause 51 (3) of the Senate version of the Electoral Act Amendment Bill 2021 stipulates that “the Commission may consider electronic transmission of results, provided that the national coverage is adjudged to be adequate and secured by the Nigerian Communications Commission and approved by the National Assembly.”
In a recently released position paper on electronic transmission of election, INEC said the available national infrastructure, including mobile network coverage were adequate to provide e-transmission of election results.
According to INEC, “the technology and national infrastructure to support this are adequate. Consequently, if the choice was up to INEC, the commission prefers to transmit election results electronically once the necessary legal framework is provided.”
The commission had piloted e-transmission of election results since 2011 via Short Messaging System (SMS) for off-cycle and by-elections. Today, though it still declares results through manually collated results, it has evolved a system it calls ‘The Collation Support and Result Verification System (CSRVS).’ INEC added that it had begun to electronically publish images of polling unit results through its INEC Result Viewing (IReV) Portal. This system had been deployed for several off-season and by-elections conducted since the 2019 general election, such as the Edo and Ondo states governorship elections as well as some senatorial and federal constituency by-elections.
Convinced that the electronic results management would add great value to the transparency and credibility of elections in Nigeria, INEC concluded that the diverse pilots conducted since 2011 meant that “the country is ready for electronic transmission of results.” The umpire said the capacity was even more reliable today than it was three years ago when the Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) and the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) certified that the e-transmission of election results was possible.
The electoral body was categorical in saying that it did not require the attestation of the NCC or even the approval of National Assembly to transmit election results electronically as that would be a breach of Section 160 of the Constitution, which empowered it to do so. Rather, it said, it was supposed to impose the necessary duties on the NCC to ensure the actualisation of the electronic transmission of election results. Attempts to transmit the 2019 election results electronically failed in 2018 when President Muhammadu Buhari refused to sign the Electoral Act Amendment Bill into law. When it was presented to him in March 2018, the President declined assent saying the bill would usurp the powers of INEC to decide on electoral matters. He also rejected the bill the second and third times it was presented to him in 2018 citing drafting issues and saying it was too close to the 2019 elections and could create some uncertainty regarding the legislation to govern the electoral process.
It is imperative to note that our election results are always contentious because most of our politicians see elections as a do-or-die affair. They recruit thugs who induce violence and manipulate results to their advantage. In 2011, over 800 people were killed in post-election violence in some northern cities. In 2015, about 100 people were killed. In 2019, over 620 people were reportedly killed in election-related violence in different parts of the country. Most times, politicians end up wasting a lot of time and money in litigation.
There is no doubt that e-transmission of results will make polls more acceptable. It will take care of the manipulation of election results, ensure transparency of the entire electoral process and reduce electoral violence. No doubt, it is the best way to go. Conversely, manual transmission of results is outdated. INEC Chairman, Professor Mahmud Yakubu, had described it as being too cumbersome and expensive.
INEC has been consistent in saying that it has the capacity to transmit election results electronically. We need to give it the benefit of doubt. We appeal to the members of the National Assembly to place the interest of the nation first. They should revisit the Electoral Act Amendment Bill and include e-transmission of poll results. E-voting and e-transmission of results remain the minimum acceptable standard for elections the world over. It does not make sense to waste a lot of money on conducting elections and then fail to declare authentic results afterwards. Our democracy will never grow if we continue that way.
INEC should begin to test the electronic voting system with outstanding off-season elections. If it could implement it in the Anambra governorship election coming up on November 6, 2021, it will go a long way to convince the naysayers. Ultimately, we need to restore the integrity of our electoral system.