From Aidoghie Paulinus, Abuja
The League of Women Voters of Nigeria has decried the exclusion of electronic transmission of results from the ongoing amendment of the Electoral Act.
Briefing journalists in Abuja, the President of the League of Women Voters of Nigeria, Dame Esther Uduehi, said the exclusion of the electronic transmission of results from the Electoral Act meant that there would be no free and fair elections in the country, explaining that any anybody could just write something other than what the people had spoken with their votes.
“We call on the National Assembly to remember that the two last elections that INEC conducted in Edo State and Ondo states were adjudged as one of the best elections reflecting the wishes of the people. It shows that electronic technology will really do something good for our democracy.
“So, it is not a question of saying they will try and put it or that. We reject that. We reject it in totality. We are saying that electronic transfer of election results is sacrosanct to free and fair election and it is sine qua non to getting a free and fair election. It is a condition for getting a free and fair election as shown in the Edo result and in the Ondo result.
“And we also believe that the removal of that, when the politicians know that there will be no transmission of results electronically, then they can go and make changes to the results as has been cast by the people. That will not be good enough,” Uduehi said.
Stressing the role of women as critical stakeholders in electoral matter, she said the women folk constituted over 50 percent of voters in the country.
She said during elections, most of the people who line up to vote were mostly women, saying that the exclusion of electronic transmission of polling results from polling booths was a setback to the work the group had been doing to encourage women to participate during elections.
“Many times when you want them to register, they ask why they should bother themselves when elections don’t count in this country.
“And now, we have been trying to convince them to come out and register because we are working hard to ensure that the votes count.