Nigeria Integrity Watch, a civil society organisation, has raised concerns that making real-time electronic transmission of election results mandatory could disenfranchise millions of voters, particularly in rural areas.
The warning followed the passage of the Electoral Act 2022 (Repeal and Reenactment) Amendment Bill 2026 by the Senate last week, after its third reading.
During deliberations, lawmakers rejected a proposed amendment to Clause 60(3) that would have required presiding officers to transmit results from polling units electronically to the INEC Result Viewing Portal immediately after signing and stamping result forms.
Instead, the Senate retained the existing provision, which allows presiding officers to transfer results in a manner prescribed by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). Senate President Godswill Akpabio explained that the removal of the term “real-time” was to account for possible network failures, saying:
“All we said during the discussion was that we should remove the word ‘real-time’ because if you say real-time, then there is a network or grid failure, and the network is not working.”
Reacting to the development, Dr. John Nang, spokesperson for Nigeria Integrity Watch, described the push for mandatory real-time transmission as a potential “democratic emergency,” citing weak digital and power infrastructure in the country.
The organisation noted that many rural communities, especially in insecure regions, lack reliable telecommunications coverage, which could prevent the seamless transmission of election results.
“Even making ordinary phone calls has become difficult due to frequent network failures. The feasibility of transmitting sensitive election data seamlessly in real time under current conditions is in doubt,” the statement said.
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The group also expressed concerns over the country’s unstable power supply and limited control over satellite infrastructure, warning that reliance on external digital systems could leave the electoral process vulnerable to manipulation.
It recalled that the Supreme Court has recognised electronic transmission as supplementary, not a replacement for manual collation, which remains a critical safeguard.
The organisation urged civil society, policymakers, and telecommunications providers to prioritise infrastructure development and ensure nationwide internet coverage before any mandatory real-time transmission of results is implemented.