The Executive Director of the Peering Advocacy and Advancement Centre in Africa, Ezenwa Nwagwu, has emphasized that electronic transmission of election results, while important, is not sufficient to guarantee credible elections in Nigeria.
Speaking on Arise Television’s Morning Show on Monday, Nwagwu said electoral reforms must go beyond electronic transmission to include electronic transfer and collation of results.
He described the ongoing public debate around amendments to the Electoral Act as a positive development, noting that increased citizen engagement strengthens Nigeria’s democratic process.
“The current agitation around the Electoral Act is positive in the sense that more citizens are interrogating governance and the activities of those who govern them,” he said. “This kind of engagement expands the democratic space.”
However, Nwagwu warned that relying solely on electronic transmission poses limitations. According to him, platforms like the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IREV) may not be adequately equipped to convert uploaded result images into verifiable numerical data in real time.
“The electronic transmission of results is important, but it is not far-reaching,” he said. “The Act should also include electronic transfer and collation of results. We must digitise the collation process to block any form of malpractice.”
He concluded that without a fully digitised collation system, the integrity of election results could still be compromised despite technological advancements.
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