The party stated this in a press release on Friday, while reacting to reports that the Nigerian Senate rejected this critical reform in the ongoing Electoral Act amendment process.
The African Democratic Congress (ADC), Enugu State chapter has affirmed that the people of the South-East geo-political zone are seriously yearning for the inclusion of mandatory real-time electronic transmission of results in the Electoral Act amendment.
The party stated this in a press release on Friday, while reacting to reports that the Nigerian Senate rejected this critical reform in the ongoing Electoral Act amendment process.
Although the purported rejection of real-time electronic transmission of results has been debunked by the minority caucus of the Nigerian Senate, Enugu ADC described the controversy surrounding the long anticipated Electoral Act amendment before the Senate as very unfortunate and embarrassing to the nation.
In the press release, signed by Comrade Adolphus Ude, on behalf of the Enugu ADC media team, the party alleged that the rigging of the 2027 general election has commenced at the Senate, with the rejection of mandatory real-time electronic transmission of results by the upper chamber.
According to the party, the action of the Senate, if allowed to stand, would definitely undermine the credibility, transparency and acceptability of future elections in the country, including the 2027 general election.
Speaking further, Enugu ADC accused the Senate of following the script of the Executive Arm of government, instead of listening the Nigerian people who desire an election, which would be driven by technology, to reduce opportunities for tampering with the election results, if collated manually.
The press release read in party: “We received with heavy heart, shock and disbelief, the report that the Nigerian Senate rejected the mandatory real-time electronic transmission of results in the Electoral Act amendment. This is not only very unfortunate, but an embarrassment to the nation.
“The senators refused to pass this critical amendment, which Nigerians seriously desire. On the contrary, they are following the script of the executive arm of government, which is doing everything possible to see that the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC) remains in power beyond May 2027.
“Where is the separation of powers? Where are the checks and balances? The senators are the representatives of the people and yet, they failed to do what the people want.”
“The masses in the South East in particular, are seriously yearning for this critical amendment, to ensure a free, fair and transparent election in the region. So, we are calling on the Igbo senators to rise up to the occasion and ensure that the right thing is done. Nigeria cannot afford another fraudulent election in 2027.”
Continuing, Enugu ADC maintained that mandatory real-time electronic transmission of results would restore public confidence in the Nigerian electoral system and make the peopleas vote to count.
The party added that a transparent and verifiable electronic system could rekindle public trust in the electoral process and stem the growing tide of voter apathy, which has been threatening democracy in Nigeria, and hence, called on the Nigerian Senate to do the needful by inserting mandatory electronic transmission.