2027: Senators Set to Amend Electoral Act, Want Electronic Transmission of Results From Polling units To INEC Server
FLOWING the outcome of party primaries, majority of APC Senators have made a U-turn, pushing for mandatory electronic transmission of election results from polling units to the INEC server.
The renewed agitation follows the outcome of the APC primaries, in which a number of sitting senators lost their return tickets to Governors "boys".
Reports have it that over 70 APC legislators lost their return body tickets to the Governor's, who went all out to manipulate the primary election.
Recall that Senators, who only months ago supported provisions making electronic transmission optional, are now insisting on a compulsory, loophole-free process.
During the 2021-2022 debate on the Electoral Act Amendment, many lawmakers aligned with the APC position that electronic transmission should not be mandatory, arguing it could be vulnerable to technical failure.
The Senate passed a version that gave INEC discretion to determine when transmission would apply.
Today, several of those same senators are leading calls for mandatory transmission, arguing it is essential to safeguard the integrity of elections.
Political observers say the shift reflects a change in incentives rather than ideology. It has become politics of survival.
“Many lawmakers supported party-controlled arrangements because they believed they had secured automatic return tickets,” said a political analyst who requested anonymity
“When the primaries began replacing them with preferred candidates, they suddenly realised the same structure they helped strengthen could also be used to push them out.”
Once re-election prospects became uncertain, transparency measures that limit backroom manipulation became more attractive, observers note.
The irony, critics argue, is that those who benefited from discretionary electoral processes are now seeking to dismantle them.
“As our elders say, ‘The trap a man sets for another may eventually catch his own leg,’” the analyst added.
“By insisting on compulsory electronic transmission, lawmakers are no longer fighting for abstract ideology; they are fighting to prevent party machinery from manufacturing outcomes behind closed doors.”
The implications for 2027 are that the development highlights how self-preservation can reshape legislative priorities.
With the 2027 general elections approaching, the push for mandatory electronic transmission may gain traction among lawmakers across party lines who now view it as a safeguard against internal party manipulation.
Whether the renewed advocacy translates into law will depend on the National Assembly’s willingness to amend the Electoral Act again — this time with many of its members directly affected by the outcome.
