Rejection Of Electronic Transmission Of Results Is A Threat To Osun 2026 Election

BY INWALOMHE DONALD

IF President Tinubu truly believes in democratic system, why is he afraid of electronic transmission of results that promotes free and fair elections? President Tinubu boasts of the control of army, command the police. APC has 30 state governors, federal might, and institutions. President Tinubu restored democracy to Benin Republic. Yet one thing terrifies President Tinubu: real-time electronic transmission of results. That fear says everything. INEC wants to take the mandate from Osun people and hand it to Osun APC with the rejection of electronic transmission of results.

INEC did it in Edo 2024 election. Electronic transmission does not threaten democracy—it protects it. It does not weaken leadership—it legitimizes it. Only those who plan to manipulate results fear transparency. I vehemently condemn the Senate’s actions regarding the E-Transmission, deeming it a blatant electoral malpractice that undermines the democratic aspirations of Nigerians.

Senate rejection of electronic transmission of results is a ploy to manipulate the up-coming Osun 2026 Guber election.  How can APC that have 30 out of 36 governors, 85 out of 107 Senators and over 300 House of Representative Members out of 360, over 598 State House of Assemblies members out of 991  yet President Tinubu can’t beat his chest of victory in a free and fair elections?  Why can’t election results be uploaded in real-time? Who is scared of that proviso been imputed into our electoral law?  President Tinubu is afraid of the electronic transmission of Osun 2026 election results because APC will lose from all indications.

The Supreme Court said according to the 2022 Electoral Act, electronic transmission of results was not mandatory. And that made it clear to all democracy lovers that there is a lacuna that must be filled. Now we have an opportunity and this APC Senate is trying to frustrate it. So, Nigerians will reject it. And I am still optimistic that the National Assembly will do the right thing.

Bandits, terrorists are transmitting their activities live electronically, they collect their ransom electronically. Terrorists transmit their activities by either on twitter or tiktok live. Governments collect taxes in Nigeria electronically.  But INEC cannot transmit election results electronically.

I want to express my firm position on the rejection of electronic transmission of election results; I want to describe it as inconsistent, illogical, and against the spirit of electoral transparency, especially in view of the existing deployment of BVAS and the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV).

It is important to remind Nigerians that our electoral system in Nigeria now relies heavily on technology-driven tools such as the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) for accreditation and the IReV platform for public viewing of polling unit results. These innovations were introduced, accepted, and even praised for improving the credibility of elections.

I challenge INEC on the need to deploy technology that would make electoral process transparent, free and fair.   The threats to Osun 2026 and Nigeria’s 2027 elections are Senate rejection of electronic transmission of results and Certified Edo 2024 election 3 sets of results with same serial number. The Senate has rejected a proposed amendment to Clause 60, Subsection 3, of the Electoral Amendment Bill 2026 that sought to make the electronic transmission of election results from polling units compulsory. The proposed amendment required presiding officers of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to transmit results electronically from each polling unit to the INEC Result Viewing (IREV) portal in real time, after the prescribed Form EC8A had been signed and stamped by the presiding officer and countersigned by party agents. It is clear to Nigeria’s APC dominated Senate and President Tinubu cannot win 2027 election with electronic transmission of results in 2027 elections.

This rejection is a clear indication that the National Assembly is not willing or ready to legislate for electoral sanctity and democratic consolidation. This is indeed a sad day for electoral democracy. I hereby call the National Assembly to immediately reconsider its stand on this matter and take steps to pass the amendment approving the electronic transmission of results.

Senate’s Electoral Stance is dangerous Path to Democratic Subversion

It is cheaper to operate electoral process in South Africa with Technology and it costs more to undertake manual collation electoral process in Nigeria. 

That the Senate rejected electronic transmission because of epileptic network while fully embracing BVAS and IReV therefore amounts to speaking from both sides of the mouth. If Nigeria’s network infrastructure is considered strong enough to: Accredit voters electronically using BVAS, and Upload and display polling unit results on IReV for public scrutiny, then it is untenable to argue that the same infrastructure suddenly becomes inadequate when it comes to electronic transmission of results.

Technology is meant to reduce human interference, not preserve it. Electronic transmission strengthens transparency, accountability, and public trust, which APC and President TINUBU is now attempting to erode.  Democracy thrives when institutions evolve to protect the will of the people, not when outdated processes are shielded under the guise of technical excuses. Rejection of electronic transmission of results is a threat to Osun 2026 election and it will not be free and fair election.

I therefore call on all democratic actors to support reforms that deepen credibility, not convenience, and to allow INEC the operational independence to deploy technology in ways that best serve free, fair, and credible elections. The future of Nigeria’s democracy must not be sacrificed on the altar of inconsistency.

Inwalomhe Donald writes via inwalomhe.donald@yahoo.com