E-transmission of results alone can’t guarantee credible elections – Shehu Sani

2026-02-18 - 14:36

Former senator representing Kaduna central, Shehu Sani, has warned that electronic transmission of election results cannot fully ensure free and fair elections in Nigeria. Sani made the remarks on Wednesday during an appearance on Channels TV while commenting on the recent amendment of the Electoral Act by the National Assembly. Recall that the Senate had approved electronic transmission of results, while retaining manual collation as a backup system, a move that has sparked national debate and protest outside the National Assembbly. Reacting, Sani said, “Electronic transfer does not mean that we’re going to have 100% free and fair election. There is no electoral system that those who intend to rig would not be able to circumvent. Now you have a manual voting and electronic transfer of results. He stressed that the real issue is not the method of transmitting results, but the intentions of those managing the process. “When there is a genuine commitment to fairness, elections will be credible. However, if there is a deliberate plan to manipulate the process, loopholes will always be found,” he added. Sani also expressed concern over vote-buying and voter inducement, noting that laws alone cannot prevent such malpractice. “For example, now, you can have laws everywhere that voters should not be induced with money or anything material for them to vote, they will still do that and we don’t have the manpower to go to every nook and cranny to make sure people are not being induced,” he said. He clarified that while he supports electronic transmission of results, the law must allow for manual collation in case of technical failures, and cautioned against imposing standards that may prove impractical, noting that even technologically advanced countries face challenges achieving seamless nationwide electronic transmission. “Election takes place in one day and it is expected that results will be transmitted the same day,” he said. ”If there is no provision for an alternative, what becomes of it? Do we wait for the next day, two days, three days? I think we should do what is practical. If it is difficult for even the most advanced nations to electronically transfer all their results, why do we want to force that on ourselves to that level?” Sani asked. “But the central point is that we say there should be electronic transfer of results and where there is a glitch or failure, we go to the manual. There should not be anything wrong with that.”