Electoral Act Amendment: Appraising Real-Time Electronic Transmission for Nigerian Elections

Introduction: A Critical Juncture for Nigeria’s Electoral Integrity

Nigeria’s democratic procedure is present process a pivotal legislative evaluate with the continuing modification to the Electoral Act. At the middle of this nationwide discourse is a apparently technical however profoundly consequential provision: the mandate for the real-time digital transmission of polling unit effects. This debate transcends birthday party politics; it moves on the core of electoral transparency, end result credibility, and public accept as true with within the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). The central query isn’t whether or not to undertake digital vote casting—a separate and extra advanced machine—however whether or not the scanned, signed reproduction of the guide end result sheet (Form EC8A) will have to be uploaded instantly from the polling unit to the general public INEC Result Viewing (IReV) portal. This article supplies a transparent, pedagogical, and Search engine marketing-optimized research of the problem, dissecting its felony, technological, and democratic dimensions to tell lawmakers, stakeholders, and the citizens.

Key Points: Essential Insights on Result Transmission

Before an in depth exploration, a number of basic issues will have to be clarified to floor the dialogue in reality and dispel not unusual misconceptions:

• Manual Voting, Digital Preservation: Nigeria’s electoral machine is basically guide. Voters use paper ballots, counting is bodily, and effects are recorded on Form EC8A. The reform considerations the virtual preservation and speedy public availability of that signed paper end result, now not the virtual casting of votes.
• Current Legal Status (Post-2023): Following the Supreme Court’s ruling in Atiku Abubakar v. INEC, using digital transmission is authorised however now not obligatory below the present Electoral Act 2022. INEC’s failure to succeed in uniform real-time uploads in 2023 didn’t invalidate the election, because the legislation does now not mandate it.
• Technological Mechanism: The Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) software captures the scanned symbol of the signed Form EC8A. This symbol calls for web connectivity just for the transmission step, now not for the accreditation or counting processes, which serve as offline.
• Stated Objective: The number one function of speedy transmission is to lock within the integrity of the end result at its maximum clear level—the polling unit—prior to the bodily shape enters the collation chain the place delays or alterations can happen.
• Legislative Imperative: The Supreme Court’s interpretation puts the onus at the National Assembly. To make real-time transmission necessary, the legislation will have to be amended to make use of transparent, crucial language, specifying the “what,” “when,” “the place,” and penalties of non-compliance.

Background: The Evolution of Result Management and the 2023 Test

The BVAS and IReV System: INEC’s Technological Framework

For the 2023 General Elections, INEC invested closely within the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and the INEC Result Viewing (IReV) portal. BVAS is a dual-purpose software used for each voter accreditation (changing the cardboard reader) and for scanning and shooting pictures of end result sheets. The IReV portal is a public-facing web site the place uploaded end result pictures are displayed for verification via events, observers, and the general public. INEC’s public tips and pre-election communications strongly implied that effects could be uploaded in real-time from polling devices, a promise that raised public expectancies for unparalleled transparency.

The 2023 Election Experience: Gaps Between Promise and Reality

On election day, the uniform, real-time add of effects didn’t materialize. Many polling unit effects gave the impression on IReV handiest after vital delays, every so often hours or days later. In reaction, INEC said “technical system faults” and issued a public apology. Former INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, supplied a the most important technical rationalization that defined the operational fact: the BVAS does now not require web connectivity for accreditation or for growing the scanned symbol. The web is just wanted for the transmission of that symbol. He said: “If there is not any community within the speedy neighborhood, the scanned symbol… shall be transmitted as quickly because the workforce transfer from the polling unit to the collation centre… We are running with telecommunications firms, and we’re glad that there are blind spots that may be addressed.” This printed a disconnect between the aspirational public messaging and the contingency-based operational business owner.

The Supreme Court’s Interpretive Landmark: Atiku Abubakar v. INEC (2023)

The felony penalties of the 2023 transmission gaps had been examined prior to the Supreme Court within the presidential election petition. The petitioners argued that the failure to add ends up in real-time violated the Electoral Act and vitiated the election. The Court’s choice, delivered in 2023, changed into the definitive felony interpretation. It held that:

• Section 60(5) and Section 64 of the Electoral Act 2022, which seek advice from digital transmission, are permissive, now not necessary.
• The Act supplies selection strategies (bodily supply of bureaucracy), and INEC’s collection of industry, inside of this permissive framework, used to be now not illegal.
• Therefore, the failure to add a end result to IReV didn’t, on its own, represent non-compliance that will invalidate an election end result.

The Court didn’t strike down digital transmission; it merely dominated that the legislation, as written, didn’t compel it. This judicial interpretation created the suitable legislative hole that the present modification seeks to handle.

Analysis: Deconstructing the Debate and Its Implications

The Logical Fallacy of Conflating Transmission with E-Voting

A power argument towards mandating real-time transmission is that this can be a step towards complete digital vote casting, which critics oppose. This is a basic class error. Transmitting a scanned symbol of a manually finished, signed, and witnessed paper file is solely other from transmitting virtual votes from a device. The former is an act of virtual archiving and public notification of a bodily end result already qualified on the polling unit. The latter comes to the virtual seize of voter selection itself. Nigeria’s style, as practiced in 2023, is the previous. Arguing towards end result transmission at the grounds of opposing e-voting misrepresents the problem and obstructs a separate, achievable reform for end result integrity.

Addressing the “Network Connectivity” Challenge

The maximum sensible objection is the loss of uniform community protection throughout Nigeria’s rugged terrain. Critics ask how real-time add is conceivable in far off spaces. This worry, whilst legitimate, must now not result in the abandonment of the reform. Several counterpoints are very important:

• Precedent in Other Sectors: Nigeria’s banking innovation processes hundreds of thousands of day-to-day Point-of-Sale (POS) and cellular cash transactions, many in far off places, via offline-capable programs that sync upon connectivity. The similar style can observe: BVAS shops the scanned symbol and mechanically transmits it upon detecting a community sign.
• Transmission vs. Accreditation: As clarified via INEC, community is handiest wanted for the general add step. Polling officers can whole accreditation, vote casting, counting, and signing solely offline. The add is the remaining motion prior to shifting to the collation middle.
• Legislative Flexibility: The legislation can outline “instantly” with sensible parameters. For example, it will mandate transmission “inside of half-hour of the signing of Form EC8A” or “upon arrival on the designated collation middle,” with documented exceptions for confirmed, insurmountable connectivity screw ups (drive majeure).
• Comparative Scale: India, the arena’s biggest democracy with just about 1 billion electorate and 646 million votes solid in its 2024 elections, effectively collated and introduced effects inside of 24 hours the use of a mixture of digital transmission and bodily mechanisms. Nigeria, with a smaller voter base, can’t credibly declare technological disability for this particular, restricted job.

The Supreme Court’s Lesson: Clarity vs. Discretion

The Supreme Court’s ruling is a masterclass in statutory interpretation. Where a legislation is silent or permissive, the court docket can’t create a compulsory legal responsibility. The Court’s choice does now not imply digital transmission is unhealthy coverage; it approach the legislative intent used to be unclear. The ambiguity within the 2022 Act’s wording granted INEC discretionary energy to make a choice its transmission industry. This discretion ended in inconsistent implementation and eroded public self belief. The modification procedure is due to this fact an workout in legislative precision. The new provision will have to use phrases like “shall” and “instantly” to take away discretion and create a transparent, justiciable responsibility. This readability will cut back post-election litigation, as grounds for dispute over end result authenticity shall be narrower.

Real-Time Transmission within the Context of Broader Electoral Reforms

While important, real-time transmission isn’t a silver bullet for Nigeria’s electoral demanding situations. It will have to be observed as one vital element of a holistic reform schedule. Deep-seated problems come with:

• Party Primaries: The often-flawed and non-transparent candidate variety processes inside of political events.
• Campaign Finance: The rampant monetization of elections and vote-buying.
• Electoral Offences: Weak detection and prosecution of offenses like intimidation, impersonation, and tampering.
• Petition Tribunals: The long, pricey, and usally inconclusive election petition procedure (“tribunalisation of democracy”).
• Voter Apathy and Logistics: Challenges with voter registration, polling unit accessibility, and fabrics deployment.

Strengthening end result transmission enhances those different reforms. It particularly objectives the post-voting section, making manipulation of effects after the general public rely harder. It does now not, alternatively, cope with pre-election misconduct or unsuitable primaries. A complete innovation is needed.

Practical Advice: Pathways for Effective Amendment and Implementation

Based at the research, here’s actionable technological advance for the important thing actors within the modification and implementation procedure:

For the National Assembly: Drafting with Precision

The modification will have to be surgically actual. Legislators must:

1. Use Imperative Language: Replace