Agbakoba calls for mandatory real-time result transmission in Electoral Act
Human rights activist and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Dr. Olisa Agbakoba, has urged the National Assembly to amend the Electoral Act to make the real-time electronic transmission of election results mandatory ahead of Nigeria’s 2027 general elections.
In a commentary released on Monday, Agbakoba highlighted persistent gaps in the country’s electoral legal framework, noting that the absence of express statutory authority for technological innovations, such as INEC’s IReV portal, continues to undermine transparency and efficiency.
“The 2023 election exposed a critical gap,” Agbakoba said. “Although INEC deployed the IReV portal for electronic transmission, the Supreme Court ruled that it lacks legal force. Without explicit statutory provision, electronic transmission remains optional and legally inconsequential, no matter how transparent or efficient it may be.”
He explained that this legal gap creates an “insurmountable evidentiary burden” for election petitions, citing the late Justice Pat Acholonu’s 2005 observation that verifying results from over 176,000 polling units within statutory timelines is practically impossible. According to Agbakoba, no presidential election petition has succeeded since 1999 because of this challenge.
Dr. Agbakoba also cited the June 12, 1993 election as a historical benchmark, praising its transparency under the Option A4 system, which allowed immediate, open verification at polling units. He argued that mandatory electronic transmission in the digital age could achieve the same level of credibility while adding efficiency, security, and verifiability.
He urged the National Assembly to act decisively, warning that failure to embed real-time electronic transmission in the Electoral Act risks perpetuating cycles of disputed elections, protracted litigation, and erosion of public trust.
“Democracy demands nothing less,” Agbakoba added, calling on lawmakers to remove ambiguity and close legal loopholes that have historically undermined the will of the people.
