The Movement for Credible Elections (MCE) on Wednesday, vehemently condemned the decision of the House of Representatives to reverse its earlier commitment to real-time electronic transmission of election results and aligned with the Senate’s version.
In a statement signed in Abuja by Olawale Okunniyi, Head, National Secretariat Movement for Credible Elections, the group said that the action of the National Assembly was not a technical adjustment but rather, a political choice to stand against the will of the people of Nigeria.
Describing the action of the lawmakers as legislative regression, the Movement for Credible Elections warned that this development could imperil public trust in the 2027 elections before the first ballot would even be cast, if left uncorrected, saying that it risks igniting another crisis of legitimacy that would not be resolved by rhetorics thereafter.
The group wondered why the members of the National Assembly should opt for discretion, conditionality, and loopholes in the electoral law, when Nigerians demanded certainty, clarity, and mandatory safeguards to protect their votes in the forthcoming elections.
The MCE therefore, demanded mandatory real-time electronic transmission from polling units, threatening that this time, ambiguity in the electoral law would not pass unchallenged.
The statement reads: “The Movement for Credible Elections condemns, without reservation, the decision of the House of Representatives to reverse its earlier commitment to real-time electronic transmission of election results and align itself with the Senate’s weakened, ambiguity-laden text.
“Let us be clear- this was not a technical adjustment. It was a political choice to stand against the will of the people.
“At a moment when Nigerians demanded certainty, clarity, and mandatory safeguards to protect their votes, lawmakers chose discretion, conditionality, and loopholes.
“By stripping “real-time” from the law and embedding an undefined “failure” escape clause that reverts to manual primacy, the National Assembly has preserved precisely the grey zones that have historically undermined electoral credibility in previous elections.
“In a country scarred by contested results, litigation, and post-election instability, this retreat is not neutral.
“It signals a preference for opacity over transparency. The chaos that reportedly accompanied yesterday’s plenary only deepens concern.
“When fundamental electoral safeguards are altered amid shouting matches, voice votes, and walkouts, citizens are right to question whether democratic procedure is being used to weaken democratic substance.
“Let us say this plainly: When lawmakers dilute transparency safeguards ahead of a general election cycle, they set the stage for doubt, dispute, and destabilization.
“Democracy does not implode overnight. It erodes through carefully drafted ambiguity. It weakens when the sovereign will of citizens is treated as a procedural inconvenience.
“The Movement for Credible Elections warns that this legislative regression imperils public trust in the 2027 elections before the first ballot is even cast, if left uncorrected.
“It risks igniting another crisis of legitimacy- one that will not be resolved by rhetoric after the fact.
“We unequivocally demand mandatory real-time electronic transmission from polling units and that is all we expect from the Legislative and Executive Arms of Government. History will record this moment.
“The question is whether the National Assembly wishes to be remembered as the institution that fortified Nigeria’s democracy- or the one that destroyed it.
“Nigerians are watching to see if President Tinubu, who prides himself as a democrat will be inclined to impose an illegitimate Bill that will foist electoral darkness and crisis on the people of Nigeria
“And this time, ambiguity in the electoral law will not pass unchallenged; as we are now determined more than ever before to mobilize the nooks and crannies of Nigeria to resist an imposed electoral law on the country, until the will of the people is respected.”
