A former member of the Senate, Shehu Sani, says the electronic transfer of election results will not guarantee 100 per cent credible polls.
Sani spoke on Wednesday during an interview on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief following the passage of the Electoral Act (Amendment Bill) and the outrage that greeted the Senate’s rejection of calls for the real-time transmission of results in the bill.
He argued that “anyone adept in politics knows that electronic transfer does not guarantee a 100 per cent free and fair election”.
“There is no electoral system that those who intend to rig will not try to circumvent.
“Even with manual voting and electronic transfer, if a nation is truly interested in organizing a credible election, it will hold. Conversely, if there is an intent to manipulate, they will find a way around whatever system is in place.
“For example, you can have laws stating that voters should not be induced with money, but it still happens,” the former Kaduna lawmaker said.
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[embedded content]Sani noted that Nigeria lacks the sophistication to monitor every part of the country and forestall inducement.
“We don’t have the manpower or the sophistication to monitor every nook and cranny to ensure people aren’t being induced.
“Having an electronic transfer doesn’t mean there will be no manipulation. It all depends on what we want to do as a country with our electoral system,” he added.
The debate over the real-time transmission of results has dominated conversations in recent weeks in Nigeria.
About a week ago, opposition politicians, including former governor Rotimi Amaechi, Labour Party’s presidential candidate in the 2023 election, Peter Obi, and members of the civil society protested at the National Assembly, pushing for the inclusion of “real-time” results transmission in the Electoral Act.
Electronic transfer doesn’t mean that we’re going to have 100% free and fair election. There is no electoral system that those who intend to rig would not be able to circumvent.
— Shehu Sani, Senator#CTVMorningBrief pic.twitter.com/bVUXg9hsg4
While the Senate allowed for the electronic transmission of results, avoiding the term “real-time,” it provided an option for the use of manual collation, citing technological failures.
The House of Representatives, which had last year passed the Electoral Act for third reading, included “real-time” transmission in the bill.
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