Who’s Afraid of Electronic Results Transmission?

IN THE ARENA

Transforming the electoral system apparently remains a Sisyphean task with some federal lawmakers ‘smuggling’ a clause into the Electoral Act Amendment Bill specifically barring electronic transmission of election results by INEC. Achi Louis writes

Gaming the electoral management system continues. Since the end of the Cold War, democratic elections have become almost a universal trend. Yet, in many countries, where elections are held, freedom and democracy are actually in retreat. Intended as mechanisms for the peaceful arbitration of political rivalries, they rather often become flashpoints for political violence.

At the core of these paradoxes are elections without integrity. All too often, elections serve merely to give autocratic regimes a coating of legitimacy. But fundamentally, elections without integrity cannot provide the winners with legitimacy, the losers with security and the public with confidence in their leaders and institutions.

In Nigeria, this trend represents something of a mixed bag as the evolution of a progressive, democratic state tentatively unfolds. The country has a long, unflattering history of inconclusive elections foreshadowed by election malpractices like multiple voting, thuggery, stolen ballots, results tampering and personnel intimidation.

Currently, the emerging controversy over alleged doctoring at the national parliament of the Electoral Act Amendment Bill, which sought to incorporate modern technology in results transmission, amongst others, mirrors one of such paradoxes in the nation’s electoral management journey.

As the Senate prepares to pass the Electoral Act amendment bill, the abrupt emergence of a strange Section 50(2), which completely outlaws transmission of votes by electronic means, is not unexpectedly generating tension among lawmakers.

Clause 50 (2) of the Bill states that: “Voting at an election under this Bill shall be in accordance with the procedure determined by the Commission (INEC), which may include electronic voting, PROVIDED that the Commission shall not transmit results of elections by electronic means.”

Some members of the Kabiru Gaya-led committee have described the provision, which was clearly smuggled in as strange.

The proposed use of more technology by the nation’s electoral umpire in the electoral process has been extolled by both government and diverse stakeholders as an important avenue towards enhancing transparent and credible polls.

This proposal was initially made in 2019 before the general election. However, its assent was delayed by President Muhammadu Buhari, who claimed the possibility of associated disruptions since it was already so close to an election. Last year, INEC started working with the National Assembly to reboot the process.

However, on the verge of passing the amended Bill submitted by the Upper Chamber’s Committee on INEC last week, some new additions that differed from the 2019 Bill were detected. The specific barring of electronic transmission of results raised red flags. Curiously, while permitting electronic voting, it foreclosed electronic diffusion of results.

The brains behind this adroit of quirky clandestine move are certainly not rookie parliamentarians. Their intent is also clearly not salutary to the yearnings of Nigerians for free, fair and transparent elections. Worse, they maybe fronting for crooked big fish, who believe their fate cannot be supported by transparent elections.

Then, there are hardly any consequences for such rankling legislative malfeasance.

With emplaced electronic collation/transmission of results, fewer people have the ability to influence results. Elections can be monitored from anywhere, removing the sole responsibility of credibility from the presiding officer and allowing him even less opportunity to doctor results. In effect, this defeats the known practice of sharing money to electoral officials at polling points to permit malpractices.

In politicians’ bid to win at all cost, they have understood the manual method totally and intimately know how to doctor the system. The new electronic system will certainly kill-off all those exploitable chinks.

But the apparent lack of sincerity on the part of lawmakers breeds mistrust. For instance, in a bland delivery that made Russia’s Putin look a callow teenager, Reps Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila denied with a straight face that an alteration clause was smuggled into the Electoral Act Amendment Bill. This was his reaction to a point on matters of privilege by Hon. Ugouna Ozurigbo (APC-Imo), at Tuesday’s plenary in Abuja.

Ozurigbo had stated he received information that the House Committee on Electoral Matters, chaired by Hon. Aisha Duku (APC-Gombe) had altered the bill.

The Speaker held that the speculation was unfounded. His words: “I really don’t want to speak on a report that has not yet been submitted to the House. I have asked the chairman of the committee and she said that nothing of such has been done”

He said that the committee had been given an assignment that would be submitted to the House once the job is finished and more specifically that the report would be laid before the House proceeds on its recess on July 14.

If there are compelling reasons to bar electronic transmission of results, the federal lawmakers ought to have articulated and communicated it in a very clear way.

True, Nigeria’s internet penetration is still low in many regions as the NCC confirmed that Nigerian broadband penetrations still stand at 39.6%, well below average. Also currently, it is uncertain what kind of transmission technology INEC wants to deploy. Ghana and South Africa use ballot-based voting processes and already transmit their election results electronically.

It could be recalled that INEC had adopted the electronic transmission of results in some previous elections to the admiration of many stakeholders, particularly in the September 2020 Edo State governorship polls.

The National Assembly should reflect on Clause 50(2) in the version of the draft bill agreed to by the joint Senate and House of Representatives Committees on INEC and Electoral Matters. The version states that, “Voting at an election and transmission of result under this Bill shall be in accordance with the procedure determined by the Commission (INEC).”

Meanwhile, for head-scratching masses, it’s morning yet on creation day!