SUNTV GLOBAL CHANNEL REPORT
A coalition of civil society organisations and labour movement leaders has strongly rejected the Senate’s recent amendment to Section 60(3) of the Electoral Act 2022, warning that it could weaken electoral transparency and reopen the door to manipulation.
The group, under the umbrella of the Movement for Credible Elections (MCE), raised alarm on Wednesday over a new provision that — while mandating electronic transmission of results to INEC’s IReV portal — allows a fallback to manual collation whenever officials claim network failure.
According to the coalition, this exception poses a major threat to the credibility of future elections in Nigeria.
“In the Nigerian context, this proviso is dangerous,” the statement read. “Claims of network failure are easy to make, difficult to verify in real time, and historically have been used to justify result substitution and other irregularities.”
Fears Rooted in 2023 Election Experience
The coalition referenced controversies surrounding the 2023 general elections, noting that public trust was severely shaken by INEC’s explanation of a “technical glitch” that delayed result uploads.
They described manual collation as the most vulnerable stage of the electoral process — the very problem electronic transmission was designed to eliminate.
“Manual collation remains the most compromised stage of elections,” the group said. “Allowing it to override electronic transmission undermines the purpose of adopting technology in the first place.”
BVAS Not the Problem — Network Is
Clarifying technical concerns, the coalition stressed that challenges with result uploads are usually due to connectivity limitations, not failures of the BVAS system itself.
They explained that BVAS operates using secure cloud protocols, meaning results remain safely stored even when immediate transmission is not possible.
“Temporary connectivity issues should never invalidate electronically captured results,” the statement added.
Call for Urgent Legislative Review
The coalition has formally rejected the amendment in its current form and is urging lawmakers to reconsider it.
They insisted that electronic transmission must remain mandatory, final, and superior to manual processes under all circumstances.
“Nigeria cannot afford to institutionalise loopholes that weaken electoral integrity,” the group concluded.
