Electoral Act: Dropping electronic result transmission could lead to crisis – Umeh

By Lawrence Agbo

Senator representing Anambra central (APGA), Senator Victor Umeh, believes that confidence in the electoral process will drop if the National Assembly disregard the the transmission of results in real-time in the ongoing amendment of the Electoral Act.

Umeh made this statement on Sunday, speaking with ARISE NEWS, where he expressed his concern that the electronic transmission of results in real-time may be quietly removed from the amended Electoral Act if the Senate continues with how it handled its proceedings.

“What is ongoing now is something that, if care is not taken, the fears of Nigerians will be confirmed-that electronic transmission of results will be dropped,” Umeh warned.

The Anambra central Senator said that the Senators largely agreed during a clossed door section to transmit results electronically to the INEC portal, which was overturned during plenary without discussion.

While we agreed that electronic transmission of results would be retained during our closed session, when we returned to plenary, something happened.

The Chief Whip moved that electronic transmission be expunged and replaced with ‘transfer’, the Deputy Senate President seconded it, and the Senate President immediately put it to a voice vote,” he said.

“That is the crux of the matter.”

Umeh further stated that INEC, political parties, civil society organisations, legal experts and judges all agreed that the electronic transmission of results should be entrenched in law.

“At the retreat attended by all stakeholders, everybody agreed that electronic transmission of results to the INEC portal in real time was necessary,” he stated.

“Across the six geopolitical zones during public hearings, Nigerians were united in demanding that electronic transmission of results be inserted into the Electoral Act.”