Lawan explains Senate’s conditional approval of e-transmission of election results

The Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, on Sunday, explained the upper legislative chamber’s position on the electronic transmission of election results.

Senators had during the debate on Electoral Act Amendment Bill last Thursday declared that Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) may consider the electronic transmission of results provided the national coverage is adjudged to be adequate and secure by the National Communications Commission (NCC) and approved by the National Assembly.

Lawan, who addressed journalists at a media briefing in Abuja, said the voting pattern by the lawmakers was in consideration of half of the voting populace whose votes may not be counted with immediate deployment or application of electronic transmission of election results.

He said: “When the majority of Senators voted against immediate application or deployment of electronic transmission of results from the polling units to the ward, local government, states, and federal, they didn’t say they do not believe in electronic transmission (of election results).

READ ALSO: Lawan tells Nigerians to channel grievances on Electoral Act to their representatives

“But you see, when you have not reached that stage where you could deploy the electronic transmission from every part of the country, then you have to be very careful.

“And no matter what anybody may say, you cannot have about 50 percent of Nigerian voters not participating or not getting their votes counted in elections and say it doesn’t matter, that we have to start the electronic transmission.

“And others have voted but their results or their votes could not be electronically transmitted. This is disenfranchising Nigerians and we are not going to support this kind of thing because essentially, we are supposed to be fair to every part of Nigeria and when we voted, every part of Nigeria voted for and against the amendment.”

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