The National Assembly is set to pass the Electoral Act Amendment Bill this week. The purpose of this bill is to enable them pass a law that will prohibit electronic transmission of election results in Nigeria.

What exactly is going on?

According to a report by The Cable, there have been efforts to pass the bill early enough so the new reforms can take place before the 2023 general elections. For this reason, the joint committees of the senate (INEC) and the house of representatives (electoral matters) set up a technical committee to work on the proposed amendment.

Part of the resolutions made by the committee is that voting in an election and transmission of results under the act shall be in accordance with the procedure determined by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

This provision is contained in section 50 (2) of the Electoral Act Amendment Bill and has been modified to read: “Voting in an election under this Bill shall be in accordance with the procedure determined by the Commission, which may include electronic voting, PROVIDED that the Commission shall not transmit results of elections by electronic means.”

What are the implications of this?

If the Electoral Act Amendment Bill is passed, it will allow them pass a law that prohibits the Electronic Transmission of Results. The greater implication of this is election rigging. Election results may be rigged at the collation level and numbers may be inflated or reduced as they are being written out.

What can I do to stop this?

You can make a phone call or send a text to your representative at the National Assembly. Here’s a link to access the representatives of each constituency: CALL YOUR REPS.

If you can, you should also reach out to the Speaker of the House of Representatives of Nigeria, Femi Gbajabiamila; or Senate President Ahmad Lawan. Speaking up is a good place to begin.

Source: https://www.zikoko.com/citizen/the-national-assembly-is-blocking-electronic-transmission-of-election-results-should-nigerians-be-concerned/