Advocacy organization Enough is Enough (EiE) Nigeria has sharply criticized the Senate’s recent Electoral Act amendment, arguing it creates loopholes for election rigging.
The controversy stems from the Senate’s decision on Tuesday to allow manual collation of election results in areas with weak internet connectivity, following initial public opposition to mandatory electronic transmission requirements.
The upper legislative chamber justified the provision by citing potential “network failure” scenarios—a rationale that has sparked renewed criticism from civil society watchdogs.
In a Wednesday statement, EiE Nigeria Executive Director Ufuoma Nnamdi-Udeh warned the amendment threatens electoral integrity.
“The Senate’s cosmetic amendment to the Electoral Act is nothing short of a calculated insult to the intelligence of the Nigerian people,” Nnamdi-Udeh said. “By creating a convenient ‘network failure’ escape clause, they have essentially legalised electoral fraud.”
She characterized the changes as inadequate reforms that fail to address the electoral credibility issues that plagued the 2023 elections.
Nnamdi-Udeh argued the provision creates opportunities for deliberate sabotage, allowing bad actors to disrupt network infrastructure and force manual collation—which she says enables result manipulation.
The EiE director referenced problems during the 2023 elections when results from strategically important polling units failed to upload, compelling electoral officers to switch to manual processes that she contends opened doors for tampering.
She noted that a joint assessment by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) found network operators could cover roughly 93% of polling units during the 2019 elections, leaving only 7% with connectivity gaps.
“Yet the Senate’s clause treats network failure as the norm rather than the exception, creating a blanket excuse that could be invoked across 100% of polling units, not just the legitimate 7%,” Nnamdi-Udeh said.
The executive director also criticized lawmakers for removing “real-time” language from the transmission requirements, arguing this removal reveals problematic intentions.
“Real-time transmission eliminates the time gap between voting and result declaration—the very window that enables manipulation,” she explained. “By permitting delayed transmission, the Senate preserves opportunities for interference between polling units and collation centres.”
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