E -Voting: CNPP cautions NASS principal officers against endangering democracy

By Ikechukwu Okaforadi

The Conference of Nigeria Political Parties (CNPP) has warned members of the National Assembly, particularly the principal officers, to retrace their steps if they are truly working to pass the Electoral Act amendment bill with the controversial insertion of a strange Section 50(2), which completely outlaws transmission of votes by electronic means at a time Nigerians are desirous of a shift to electronic voting.”
The Secretary General of CNPP, Willy Ezugwu, who spoke in a statement issued in Abuja, equally warned that the federal lawmakers would be deliberately pitching Nigerians against the President Muhammadu Buhari administration if the clause banning electronic transmission of results is allowed to scale through the legislative process.
According to the CNPP, “Nigeria at this time should be thinking of reducing cost of elections by adoption of electronic voting system, which should also have provisions for Diaspora voting and allow the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to determine its full or partial implementation at any time.
“For the CNPP, that is a safer option and a middle ground for both the pro- and the anti-electronic voting system.
“The Lawmakers should know that they would be pushing Nigerians to the wall if they fail to make popular laws that would guarantee free, fair and credible elections in 2023 and the CNPP will join all lovers of democracy in Nigeria to resist the current move to return the country to the path of electoral uncertainty.
“We are convinced that the National Assembly has not lived up to its responsibilities to the Nigerian electorates and their constituents but refusing to legalise electronic transmission of electoral results to the INEC server would be the deathblow of the country’s democracy.
“We have followed the conversation and the controversy trailing the reported ban on electronic transmission of election results and found it unimaginable as INEC had in several occasions in the past expressed its determination to adopt electronic voting, including the transmission of results by electronic means.
“We now wonder why Nigerians can carry out bank transactions using electronic means, including the use of USSD, which does not require the Internet to make payments and the Nigerian lawmakers are attempting to ban electronic transmission of electoral outcomes from the polling units.
“At the moment, INEC is deploying electronic system into the ongoing Continues Voters Registration process, proving its readiness to integrate electronic technologies into electoral processes.
“The Nigerian legislators, particularly their principal officers, must not destroy our democracy and immediately end their anti-people legislative postures of the 9th Assembly, realising that they are serving Nigerians, not a particular political party or Mr. President”, the CNPP stated.