Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has strongly condemned the Nigerian Senate’s decision to reject real-time electronic transmission of election results, describing the move as a deliberate assault on electoral transparency and a dangerous setback for Nigeria’s democratic future ahead of the 2027 general elections.
In a statement posted on his official X (formerly Twitter) handle on Thursday, Atiku said the Senate’s action represented a calculated blow against transparency, credibility, and public trust in the country’s electoral process.
“The decision of the Nigerian Senate to reject the real-time electronic transmission of election results is a deliberate assault on electoral transparency,” Atiku stated.
He warned that the rejection of the reform marked a grave regression at a time when democracies around the world are leveraging technology to strengthen the integrity of their electoral systems.
“At a time when democracies across the world are strengthening their electoral systems through technology, the Nigerian Senate has chosen to cling to opacity, protect loopholes, and preserve a system that has historically enabled manipulation, tampering, and post-election disputes,” he said.
Atiku stressed that electronic transmission of results is not a partisan demand but a fundamental democratic safeguard that limits human interference and ensures that votes cast at polling units are accurately reflected in final outcomes.
“Real-time electronic transmission of results is not a partisan demand; it is a democratic safeguard. It reduces human interference, limits result manipulation, and ensures that the will of the voter, expressed at the polling unit, is faithfully reflected in the final outcome,” he said.
He faulted the Senate for what he described as a face-saving reliance on provisions of the 2022 Electoral Act, arguing that the decision signaled an unwillingness by the political establishment to subject elections to public scrutiny.
“To reject it, and adopt what is obviously a face-saving provision of the 2022 Act on electronic transmission of results, is to signal an unwillingness to submit elections to public scrutiny,” Atiku noted.
According to the former Vice President, the decision raises serious concerns about the commitment of the ruling political class to conducting free, fair, and credible elections in 2027.
“This decision raises troubling questions about the commitment of the ruling political establishment to free, fair, and credible elections in 2027,” he warned.
Atiku further accused the political elite of consistently resisting reforms that promote transparency while preserving ambiguities that favour incumbency.
“Nigerians cannot ignore the pattern: every reform that strengthens transparency is resisted, while every ambiguity that benefits incumbency is preserved,” he said.
Reiterating his long-held position on democratic reform, Atiku maintained that Nigeria’s electoral process must evolve with time, technology, and the expectations of citizens.
“I have consistently maintained that democracy must evolve with time, technology, and the legitimate expectations of the people,” he said, adding that elections should be decided by voters, not by “manual delays, backroom alterations, procedural excuses or even by the courts.”
He also called on Nigerians, civil society organisations, the media, and the international community to take note of what he described as a dangerous regression and to continue pushing for electoral reforms that meet modern democratic standards.
“Nigeria deserves elections that are transparent, verifiable, and beyond manipulation. Anything less is an injustice to the electorate and a betrayal of democracy,” Atiku declared.
