Major opposition political parties in Nigeria, including the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), African Democratic Congress (ADC), and the New Nigerian Peoples Party (NNPP), have faulted the Nigerian Senate over its decision to reject mandatory electronic transmission of election results.
The criticism followed the Senate’s decision on Wednesday to throw out a proposed amendment to Clause 60, sub-section 3 of the Electoral Amendment Bill, which sought to compel the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to electronically transmit election results.
Instead, the upper legislative chamber resolved to grant INEC the discretion to determine whether or not to transmit results in real time.
The development has sparked widespread reactions across the country, with many Nigerians condemning the move and accusing lawmakers—particularly Senate President Godswill Akpabio—of attempting to create room for manipulation ahead of future general elections, including the re-election bid of President Bola Tinubu.
In a joint statement on Thursday, spokespersons of the PDP, ADC, and NNPP—Ini Ememobong, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, and Bamofin Ladipo Johnson, respectively—accused the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led Senate of deliberately shielding “loopholes” capable of undermining the credibility of future elections.
“With this anti-people and anti-democratic action, we are concerned that the APC-led Senate may have set Nigeria’s democracy back by many decades,” the parties said.
“They are aware of the rejection that awaits them at the forthcoming polls. A free and fair election has therefore become a threat to them,” the statement added.
The opposition parties noted that the far-reaching implications of what they described as a “retrogressive act” compelled them to jointly address the issue, warning that it poses a serious threat to Nigeria’s democratic progress.
They also questioned what they described as the inconsistency of the ruling party’s position on technology.
“We are at a loss as to why a party that is currently deploying technology to run an e-registration of their members across the country is averse to using technology to transmit election results,” the statement said.
The Senate’s decision has continued to fuel debate over electoral reforms and the role of technology in strengthening transparency and public confidence in Nigeria’s democratic process.