Kenneth Eze (Ebonyi Central) says Nigeria lacks the infrastructure for seamless real-time electronic transmission of election results before the 2027 elections.
Speaking on Sunday in Ohigbo-Amagu, Ezza South LGA, Ebonyi, Mr Eze addressed controversies surrounding amendments to the Electoral Act 2022, particularly the collation and transmission provisions.
He said demands for full real-time transmission ignored the instability of the electricity grid and the limited technological capacity nationwide.
“We must ask whether we have the infrastructure to support real-time transmission to the INEC Result Viewing portal. Do we have steady electricity and other essentials required to sustain such innovation?” Mr Eze asked.
He stressed that electronic transmission was desirable, but that laws must reflect practical realities on the ground. According to him, genuine real-time transmission is only possible through full electronic voting, not paper ballots.
“You cannot talk about real-time transmission without electronic voting. The ballot would need a microchip to transmit instantly once cast,” the senator added.
Mr Eze explained that once votes are cast on paper, counted manually and entered into Form EC8-1 before upload, the process ceases to be real-time.
“Real-time means automatic transmission at the point of voting. Once counting and manual entry occur, time has elapsed,” Mr Eze stated.
Mr Eze clarified that the Senate had not rejected electronic transmission but sought a workable system to improve existing mechanisms. He disclosed that proposed amendments would make the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) mandatory and abolish manual accreditation.
“Any polling unit where votes exceed BVAS-accredited voters will have its results invalidated,” he said.
The senator recalled logistical and power challenges during the 2023 Nigerian general election, noting that generators were provided at collation centres, not all polling units. He said many BVAS devices were inadequately charged, disrupting accreditation and the uploading of results.
Mr Eze urged citizens to trust the National Assembly to enact laws strengthening electoral transparency through feasible technological reforms.
On party primaries, he said amendments proposed mandatory direct primaries to replace the delegate system. He described the proposal as a “game-changer” for deepening internal party democracy.
“Under the proposal, aspirants will test their popularity directly with party members. Disputes from manipulated primaries will be handled expeditiously by a designated Federal High Court,” the politician stated.
(NAN)
