Atiku slams Senate over rejection of e-transmission of election results, calls it ‘attack on democracy’
Former Vice President and African Democratic Congress (ADC) chieftain, Atiku Abubakar, has strongly condemned the Nigerian Senate’s decision to reject real-time electronic transmission of election results, describing it as a deliberate assault on electoral transparency and democratic credibility.
In a statement issued by his media aide, Paul Ibe, on Tuesday, Atiku said the Senate’s action represents a serious regression in Nigeria’s electoral reform journey and undermines public trust in the democratic process.
He noted that while democracies across the world are embracing technology to strengthen electoral integrity, Nigeria’s lawmakers appear determined to preserve opacity and safeguard loopholes that have historically enabled manipulation, tampering, and post-election disputes.
According to Atiku, real-time electronic transmission of results is not a partisan demand but a critical democratic safeguard designed to reduce human interference, prevent result alteration, and ensure that votes recorded at polling units are accurately reflected in final outcomes.
He criticized the Senate’s decision to retain the 2022 framework on electronic transmission, describing it as a weak substitute that fails to guarantee transparency or public scrutiny of election results.
“The rejection of real-time transmission raises disturbing questions about the commitment of the ruling political establishment to conducting free, fair, and credible elections in 2027,” Atiku said.
He warned that Nigerians must not ignore what he described as a recurring pattern—where reforms that enhance transparency are resisted, while ambiguities that benefit incumbency are preserved.
Reaffirming his long-held stance on electoral reform, Atiku stressed that democracy must evolve in line with technology and the expectations of citizens, insisting that elections should be decided by voters, not by manual delays, backroom alterations, or procedural excuses.
He called on Nigerians, civil society groups, the media, and the international community to take note of what he termed a dangerous regression and to continue pressing for an electoral system that meets modern democratic standards.
“Nigeria deserves elections that are transparent, verifiable, and beyond manipulation. Anything less is a betrayal of democracy,” the statement concluded.
