Protesters on Monday stormed the National Assembly complex in Abuja, demanding that lawmakers make real-time electronic transmission of election results compulsory in the proposed Electoral Act Amendment Bill, 2026.
The demonstrators, drawn from civil society organisations including Situation Room Nigeria and ActionAid Nigeria, called for the complete removal of manual collation of results from Nigeria’s electoral process, arguing that it creates opportunities for manipulation at collation centres.
According to the protesters, full transparency and public confidence in elections can only be achieved if results are transmitted electronically in real time from polling units, without any fallback to manual procedures.
They insisted that allowing manual backups weakens the credibility of the electoral process.
The protest followed a five-day pause in demonstrations after assurances were reportedly given to the groups during a previous Senate sitting.
However, security operatives barricaded the entrances to the National Assembly complex on Monday, forcing the protesters to stage their demonstration outside the main gates.
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The protesters maintained that there was no justification for retaining manual backups, noting that funds allocated for elections already cover the technological infrastructure required for electronic transmission of results.
The renewed protest comes amid controversy in the Senate over Clause 60(3) of the Electoral Act Amendment Bill. Last Tuesday, the Senate reconvened for an emergency plenary to revisit its earlier position on the clause.
During the session, the Senate Chief Whip, Tahir Monguno, moved a proposal to remove the phrase “real-time” and replace the word “transmission” with “transfer.”
The move triggered strong objections on the floor of the chamber, including from Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, who repeatedly raised points of order.
At the end of the debate, lawmakers approved electronic transmission of results to the INEC Result Viewing Portal, but retained manual collation as a backup in the event of technical failures.
Despite this compromise, the protesters vowed to sustain pressure on lawmakers, saying they would not back down until real-time electronic transmission of election results is fully guaranteed in the amended law.
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