Legal Experts Warn Of Structural Cracks Ahead Of 2027 Elections

LAGOS – As debate continues over the future of electronic transmission of election results in Nigeria, legal voices have of­fered pointed perspectives on what the development means for the country’s democracy ahead of 2027 election, warn­ing that while technology is important, deeper institutional and structural issues remain unresolved.

Leading the intervention is Ebun Olu Adegboruwa (SAN), who described the controversy surrounding electronic transmission as troubling in a country striving to modernise its systems.

In his submission on ‘Electronic Transmission of Election Results is Non Negotiable’, Adegboruwa said, “Facts emerging from the National Assembly concerning the issue of electronic transmis­sion of election results are very worrisome and befuddling.

“In 21st century Nigeria, where even government minis­tries and parastatals are moving towards paperless regime, it is surprising that the National As­sembly is unable to summon the courage to do what Nigerians yearn for.”

The senior advocate shared his concerns on Nigeria’s history of disputed elections, noting that credibility problems often arise at the collation and transmission stages.

According to him, “The pain­ful experience over the years is that successive elections have been marred by cases of electoral fraud, corruption and manipula­tion, especially in the collation and transmission of results.”

He warned against any action that could expose the ballot to ma­nipulation.

“It constitutes a total disre­gard for the sanctity of the ballot to suggest in any form that the will of the people be subjected to the slightest risk of rigging and manipulation,” he stated.

Adegboruwa stressed that the solution lies in reducing human interference in the electoral pro­cess.

“The pathway to achieving transparency in our electoral pro­cess is to reduce human interven­tion in determining the outcome of elections,” he said, adding that “as representatives of the people, the National Assembly should al­ways reflect the overall interests of Nigerians in their laws, poli­cies and actions.”

He argued that at Nigeria’s present stage of political devel­opment, the debate should have moved beyond whether electronic transmission is necessary.

“At this stage of our political de­velopment, the issue of electronic transmission of election results should not be an issue for debate or controversy,” he maintained.

Emphasising the constitu­tional and moral responsibility of lawmakers, Adegboruwa not­ed, “The National Assembly has a sacred duty to guarantee the sanctity and integrity of elections in order to ensure that only those truly chosen by the people emerge as winners.”

He, therefore, urged that the Electoral Act be strengthened to remove ambiguity.

“I, therefore, join all other well-meaning Nigerians to call upon the legislators to ensure that the final amended draft of the Electoral Act reflects com­pulsory electronic transmission of election results,” he concluded.

Also weighing in on the mat­ter is Chief Goddy Uwazurike, President General of the Cultur­al Credibility Development Initia­tive, who framed the debate as one fundamentally about political will rather than technological capacity.

“In my opinion, the wishes of the people can only be captured if the right thing is done. All votes must count. And if they don’t count, then it is not a good elec­tion,” he said.

Uwazurike questioned the re­sistance to electronic processes in elections, arguing that similar systems are already widely used in other sectors.

“Now let me ask you, what is wrong and what is impossible with electronic voting, with elec­tronic transmission, with elec­tronic records. When it is there, it makes life easy. Simple things should be left in a simple manner. People vote, everything goes up in the air, and everybody moves.”

He criticised the idea that transmission should be left to discretion or delayed. “Electron­ic transmission is most effective when it is done there and then.”

Drawing comparisons with banking and party administra­tion, he said, “APC today is doing recruitment electronically, and they keep updating us. They say we are now twelve million. How are they getting it through? We have banks that use electronic transmission. Very few people enter banks these days to go and withdraw money. Most of the time, you stay in your place, press a few things, the person in Kadu­na will receive it. It is no rocket science. It is a very simple thing.”

Uwazurike dismissed claims that infrastructure challenges make electronic transmission impracticable. “Those who did that of the bank system, are they from the moon? They didn’t even spend up to half of the money we are budgeting.”

He also referenced Nigeria’s experience with remote systems during the pandemic. “Lectures were held online for secondary schools, for universities. There was no complaint. Even hearing in court, Supreme Court sat with remote hearing. Nobody has com­plained of it till today.”

On the controversy surround­ing the 2023 presidential election, he maintained that the problem was not technological failure. “The only time they said there was a glitch was the presidential election. It is man-made glitch, not technological glitch. So the will must be there to support electron­ic transmission. The will to allow the votes count must be there.”

Uwazurike concluded with a call for immediacy in transmis­sion. “Transmission forthwith, not at the discretion of the elec­toral officer. Never. Remember that when we transfer money, somebody gets it immediately. It does not say one minute or two minutes later. He gets it. So if we cannot install new equipment, let us call in the banks. They use their system to help us.”

In his perspective, Dr. Adewale Kupoluyi examined the legisla­tive implications of the Senate’s decision on the Electoral Act amendment and warned that electronic transmission alone will not resolve Nigeria’s electoral challenges.

Reflecting on the Senate’s clause by clause consideration of the Electoral Act Amendment Bill, he noted that lawmakers vot­ed down an amendment to Clause 60(3) that sought to mandate pre­siding officers to electronically transmit polling unit results to INEC’s Result Viewing portal in real time after signing and stamp­ing Form EC8A.

“What the upper chamber had done is simply to retain the current wording in the Electoral Act, which provides that ‘the pre­siding officer shall transfer the results, including the total num­ber of accredited voters and the results of the ballot, in a manner as prescribed by the commis­sion’,” he said.

“By implication, by rejecting the amendment, the Senate has declined to inculcate into law, the hard wire mandatory elec­tronic transmission require­ment, thus leaving the mode of results transfer to INEC’s operational guidelines or dis­cretion, rather than making it an absolute legal requirement that is actionable.”

While acknowledging public yearning for compulsory elec­tronic transmission, Kupoluyi cautioned that other vulnerabil­ities remain. “Even though the Senate’s rejection of mandatory electronic transmission of elec­tion results is at variance with the yearnings of the people, we should realise that many loop­holes are still there to block.”

He identified the voter register as a major concern. “For instance, the voter’s register must be made transparent, clear, and reliable. Recall that in the last general elections, discrepancies discov­ered include findings that sever­al dead people were seen voting, while foreign names were equally discovered on the list of voters.”

According to him, “If the vot­er’s register is tampered with, real time results transmission is not going to be accurate, even if it is made mandatory or legal.”

Kupoluyi further stressed the importance of infrastructure and systemic safeguards. “Electronic transmission of results cannot be effective unless there is uninter­rupted supply of power, reliable network connection, and a well monitored system that would guarantee a flawless system.”

He suggested that the Sen­ate’s approach may have been influenced by concerns about lit­igation. “I think what the Senate has just done is simply to protect INEC from the litany of litigation that could arise from not using electronic transmission of results in the coming elections.”

Beyond transmission, he pointed to persistent electoral offences. “Besides the electron­ic transmission of results, we should not forget other serious matters such as vote buying, multiple voting, underage vot­ing, violence, inducement, and corruption that have become a recurring decimal in our elec­toral system.”

The submissions of the three legal practitioners all pointed to a shared concern that while electronic transmission is wide­ly viewed as critical to electoral credibility, it may not, on its own, guarantee transparent and dis­pute free elections.

As preparations gradually be­gin for 2027 election, their inter­ventions suggest that technology, political will, legal clarity and in­stitutional reform must converge if public confidence in Nigeria’s democratic process is to be fully restored.