By Peace Udugba -The daily torch media
Protesters returned to the National Assembly on Monday, demanding that lawmakers make real-time electronic transmission of election results mandatory in the 2026 Electoral Act Amendment Bill.
The demonstrators, including civic groups like Yiaga Africa Situation Room and ActionAid Nigeria, rejected manual collation of results, warning that it leaves room for manipulation. They insisted that with the huge budget allocated for election technology, there is no excuse for keeping manual backups.
Security operatives blocked the entrance to the National Assembly complex, forcing the protesters to gather outside the gates.
The protest followed the Senate’s recent review of Clause 60(3) of the Electoral Act Amendment Bill. During plenary, Senate Chief Whip Tahir Monguno moved to delete the word “real-time” and replace “transmission” with “transfer,” a proposal that drew resistance from lawmakers including Enyinnaya Abaribe.
Although the Senate approved electronic transmission of results to INEC’s Result Viewing Portal, it retained manual collation as a backup in case of technical issues.
Lawmakers are expected to reconvene on Tuesday, February 17, but protesters say they will not back down until full real-time transmission is guaranteed.
