The national assembly had blocked the transmission of election results through electoral means in clause 50(2) of the bill.

The action drew criticism from many Nigerians, which prompted the federal lawmakers to restore the electronic transmission clause.

The bill was finally passed on Thursday at the senate, but with provisions on electronic transmission of results, while the house of representatives is yet to make a decision on the bill.

Following a motion, the senate voted in favour of allowing the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to certify national coverage, followed by an approval by the national assembly before the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) can transmit results electronically.

Reacting in a statement by Kola Ologbondiyan, its spokesperson, the PDP said the decision of the APC-led senate is an attempt to undermine the country’s electoral process.

The PDP said the action of the APC senators is a direct affront and a “defilement” of the 1999 constitution, which confers operational independence on INEC to conduct elections free from interferences.

“The action of the APC senators is an atrocious assault on the sensibilities of Nigerians, who looked up to the Senate for improvement in our electoral process in a manner that will engender free, fair and credible process,” the PDP said.

“It is outrageous that the APC and its Senators, in their desperate bid to annex the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), seek to route a statutorily independent commission to the approval of an individual masquerading in the Nigeria Communication Commission (NCC); an agency under executive control in addition to an extra endorsement of the legislature, before conducting elections.

“This action of the APC senators is a direct affront, novel in its recklessness and a defilement of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), which clearly conferred operational independence to INEC to conduct elections, free from interferences and regulations from any other agency of government.

“The decision of the APC Senators, therefore, amounts to a suspension of the 1999 constitution (as amended) which is a recipe for crisis that could derail our democracy and destabilize our nation.

“It is, to say the least, a preparation for mass rigging of elections across Nigeria by the APC, which must be firmly resisted.”

The party, however, commended PDP senators for their “resilience” in voting for the electronic transmission of results.

The PDP encouraged the house of representatives to “return to the chamber tomorrow and save our nation from the machination of the APC as being pushed in the senate”.

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Its National Chairman, Prof. Yakubu Mahmood, who announced this on Monday in Abuja, said the commission had taken another decisive step towards the full automation of the electoral process.

Yakubu said “After extensive discussion and review, the commission took the decision to invite original manufacturers of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) around the world for a virtual or practical demonstration of the machines.

“Over the years, the commission has been automating the critical pillars of the process. The biometric register of voters has been updated continuously. At the moment, the INEC register of voters is the largest data base of citizens in Nigeria.

“In addition, the combination of biometric voters’ cards, commonly known as the Permanent Voter’s Card (PVC) and the Smart Card Reader (SCR), have revolutionised the accreditation of voters during elections. More recently, the introduction of a number of portals has facilitated the seamless nomination of candidates for elective offices by political parties as well as the accreditation of observers and the media.

“Most significantly, the commission now uploads polling unit level results in real-time on Election Day to a portal for public view. These are significant innovations that have deepened the transparency and credibility of elections and the electoral process in Nigeria.”

He added that “Today, the commission is taking yet another decisive step towards the full automation of the electoral process. For some time now, the commission has been working on the deployment of technology in voting during elections to replace the current manual system, which is tedious and requires enormous logistics to deliver huge quantities of printed materials and a large number of ad hoc workers to administer the process.

“To this end, the commission developed the specifications of the functions required of the machine. After extensive discussion and review, the commission took the decision to invite original manufacturers of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) around the world for a virtual or practical demonstration of the machines.

“Over 40 companies that indicated interest will demonstrate to the commission how their IT solutions meet our specifications.

“I wish to emphasise that this is only a demonstration that will enable the commission to evaluate the available technology and, where necessary, fine-tune our specifications before proceeding to the next stage, which will involve the participation of stakeholders. Details of the next steps will be given at the end of the demonstrations.

“The commission is aware that Nigerians want us to deepen the use of technology in elections. Let me reassure Nigerians that the commission is committed to expediting the process leading to the deployment of EVMs in elections in earnest.”

Also, a coalition of civil society organisations (CSOs) yesterday urged the National Assembly not to disappoint Nigerians on the expected legislative process to review the nation’s Constitution and electoral reforms.

Addressing reporters on behalf of other groups in Abuja, Banke Ilori Oyeniyi, of Raising New Voices Initiative, said there is need to curb incessant violence and voter suppression, which have marred the conduct of elections overtime, thereby seeming to have become a standard practice.

According to her, Nigeria’s elections have witnessed inadequate improvements for a growing democracy, in the face of electoral fraud, violence, voter inducement, intimidation, bribery and corruption.

Nigeria’s electoral process has become a shadow of itself and inspires very little hope and confidence for the future.

“It is noteworthy that the National Assembly has already commenced work on the Electoral Amendment Bill. We have more than enough reasons to believe that the process has not been given the urgency, seriousness and attention that it deserves,” Oyeniyi said.

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