- Insists on review of newly signed electoral law
By Lateef Ibrahim, Abuja
A group, The #FixPolitics Initiative, has charged the National Assembly to urgently initiate corrective legislation that makes real-time electronic transmission of results mandatory and non-negotiable.
It also tasked President Bola Tinubu to demonstrate leadership by supporting a swift amendment that restores full transparency to the electoral process.
In a statement, the Executive Director, #FixPolitics Initiative, Anthony Ubani, noted that despite public dissent across the country, federal lawmakers passed the unpopular version of the Electoral Reform Bill, which was not real-time transmission-friendly.
Ubani stated, “We are here today because a grave mistake has been made, and it must be corrected.
“Despite overwhelming public opposition, despite peaceful protests across the country, and despite clear demands from civil society and election observers, the National Assembly passed a version of the Electoral Reform Bill that weakens real-time electronic transmission of results. The President has now signed it into law”, it noted with sadness.
According to #FixPolitics, the new electoral law represents a step backwards, saying, “At a time Nigerians are demanding greater transparency, greater accountability, and stronger safeguards for their votes, this law chooses opacity over openness”.
Continuing, it said, “Real-time electronic transmission of results from polling units is neither a luxury nor an experiment; it is a democratic safeguard. It protects results at the point where they are most vulnerable. It reduces human interference. It builds public confidence.
“To weaken it is to weaken trust. And when trust in elections declines, democracy itself is endangered”, it stressed.
Making its position absolutely clear, the citizens-led movement to structurally change and innovate politics in Nigeria, Africa and the rest of the world said the law must be rescinded.
“The National Assembly must urgently initiate corrective legislation that makes real-time electronic transmission of results mandatory and non-negotiable.
“The President must demonstrate leadership by supporting a swift amendment that restores full transparency to the electoral process.”Anything short of this will leave a permanent question mark over the credibility of future elections,” it added.
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