CSOs to NASS: Adopt E-Voting, Kill Rigging Loopholes Now

By Linda Ike

Civil Society Groups have issued an urgent call to the National Assembly’s conference committee, demanding mandatory real-time electronic transmission of election results, downloadable voter cards, and broader powers to challenge rigged outcomes as they harmonise the contentious Electoral Act Amendment Bill.

They made the demands Monday at an Abuja press conference. The strongly worded statement targets Tuesday’s Senate emergency plenary on February 10.

The groups led by the Chief Executive Officer of TAF Africa, Jake Epelle urged lawmakers to prioritise national interest over narrow partisan calculations and pass the bill to President Bola Tinubu within two weeks.

They hailed the Senate’s emergency session as a chance to embed unambiguous reforms theough its Votes and Proceedings.

The groups backed the House of Representatives’ push for mandatory e-transmission under Clause 60(3), but proposed a tech-neutral tweak to avoid locking into specific platforms like INEC’s IReV portal.

They suggested, “The designated election official shall electronically transmit all election results in real time, including the number of accredited voters, directly from the polling units and collation centres to a public portal and the transmitted result shall be used to verify any other result before it is collated.

They clarified real-time as uploading results recorded on Form EC8A right after polling ends and public announcement at the unit, creating an electronic copy for verification, not instant voting uploads or full e-collation.

They backed House plans for downloadable PVCs to help 6.2 million 2023 registrants who missed cards and couldn’t vote.

The groups rejected timeline cuts, urging retention of 360 days election notice, 180 days for candidate lists, and 150 days for INEC nominations to dodge ballot chaos.

Expand Powers to Fight Election Rigging.
Section 65 limits INEC’s 7-day result reviews to reports from its own officials only, sidelining parties, candidates, agents, and observers despite evidence of INEC complicity in 2023 manipulations from pressured Returning Officers to falsified sheets, as ruled by election tribunals.

Civil society groups called for expanding Section 65 filers to parties, candidates, agents, and observers. This creates shared checks to block INEC capture and ensure real accountability.

They warned that delaying through transitional provisions risks a vacuum of legal and administrative woes.