Lawan justifies senators’ reasons for voting against e-transmission of election results

During the vote to reform Nigeria’s election processes on Thursday, July 15, 2021, 52 senators voted against the transmission of election results through electoral means, while 28 refused to participate in the headcount vote.

Explaining the reason the senators opposed the initiative many Nigerians believe would reform election processes, Lawan said the senators voted the way they did in defence of about half of the Nigerian voters whose votes may not be counted with immediate deployment of electronic transmission of election results.

Nigerian senators [Tope Brown] Pulse Nigeria

The President of the Senate was quoted as saying in a statement titled, ‘Why we voted for e-transmission of results with conditions — Senate President …Says not only APC but some PDP Senators too voted for it’.

The statement, which was signed by Ola Awoniyi, the Special Adviser (Media) to the President of the Senate reads in part, “I’m happy that we have been able to pass the amendment even though some people are complaining of what we have passed in the Senate and probably what the House of Representatives has also passed.

“When the majority of Senators voted against immediate application or deployment of electronic transmission of results from the polling units, to the ward, to the local government, states and federal, they didn’t say they do not believe in electronic transmission (of election results).

“All of us in the Senate, 109 of us, believe that at one point, our electoral process must deploy electronic transmission so that it eases and enhances the electoral process and give it more credibility and integrity.

“But you see, when you have not reached that stage where you could deploy the electronic transmission from every part of the country, then you have to be very careful. And no matter what anybody may say, you cannot have about 50 percent of Nigerian voters not participating or not getting their votes counted in elections and say it doesn’t matter, that we have to start the electronic transmission.

Lawan believes Nigeria is not yet ripe for electronic transmission of election results, saying such an initiative could disenfranchise many Nigerians.

Nigerian senators [Tope Brown] Pulse Nigeria

“We know the evils of not transmitting results electronically but compare the evils of electronically transmitting just half of the electoral votes from Nigerians and say you have elected a President with 50 percent only.

“And others have voted but their results or their votes could not be electronically transmitted. This is disenfranchising Nigerians and we are not going to support this kind of thing because essentially, we are supposed to be fair to every part of Nigeria and when we voted, every part of Nigeria voted for and against(the amendment).

“What I mean here is that, you have Senators from northern part of Nigeria who voted for electronic transmission. Maybe that is their belief or their environment is ready for electronic transmission. And you have Senators from southern part of Nigeria who voted against the immediate deployment of electronic transmission but they support that the electronic transmission of results should be allowed after certain conditions are met and the conditions are simple: The National Communication Commission had provided the technical information that only NCC could give — that only about 50 percent of the Nigerian environment, the polling units, in the country could possibly have their results electronically transmitted.

“So what happens to the other 50 percent. So we believe that all of us in the Senate were aiming at the same target but chose to go through different routes and that is why in my concluded remarks in the Senate after the debate and voting, I said there was no Victor, no Vanquish because we all meant well.

“And for those Nigerians who still feel that the electronic transmission should have just been allowed to take effect, I said well, this is how democracy works. Democracy is to allow those minority views to be expressed and democracy provides that the majority views will always prevail.”

The Senate President also faulted media reports that insinuated that only APC lawmakers voted against the immediate application of the electronic transmission of results.

He also said that it was wrong to conclude that Senators who voted for electronic transmission with conditions did not like the results transmitted electronically.

Meanwhile the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has dispelled the senate's position on the issue saying electronic transmission of election results is possible and practicable in Nigeria.

The Commission said it has the capacity to transmit election results electronically across the country regardless of the poor conditions in remote areas.