Nigeria lacks capacity for live election result transmission — Ex-INEC Commissioner

Nigeria lacks capacity for live election result transmission — Ex-INEC Commissioner 

 

A former National Commissioner of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Dr Mustapha Lecky, has said Nigeria lacks the technical capacity to implement real-time electronic transmission of election results.

This came as controversy continues to trail proposed amendments to the Electoral Act.

Lecky spoke on Friday during an appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today, amid heated debate following the Senate’s rejection of a proposal seeking to make electronic transmission of election results mandatory.

The Senate on Wednesday, reportedly declined an amendment to Clause 60(3) of the Electoral Act Amendment Bill, a move that has drawn mixed reactions from political stakeholders, civil society groups and election observers who view digital transmission as a tool for improving transparency.

However, the former electoral commissioner argued that real-time transmission should not be prioritised when Nigeria still relies largely on manual voting processes.

According to him, the absence of electronic voting makes instantaneous electronic transmission impractical, noting that votes are still cast using paper ballots and counted physically at polling units before collation.

“It doesn’t really make sense to talk about instantaneous transmission of results live as it is happening because we don’t conduct electronic voting anywhere. Nigeria is not yet ready for that,” he said.

Lecky explained that the current voting system requires officials to manually sort and count ballots in full public view at polling units, a process he said must be completed before any form of transmission can occur.

The debate over electronic transmission has remained a major flashpoint in Nigeria’s electoral reform discussions, with proponents insisting it would curb manipulation during collation, while critics warn of infrastructural gaps, network challenges and cybersecurity risks.

As the Electoral Act amendment process continues at the National Assembly, stakeholders remain divided over how far technology should shape future elections in Africa’s most populous democracy.