YPP, ADC react over passage of Electoral Act amendment bill

Young Progressives Party (YPP) on Thursday rejected the Electoral Act (amendment) Bill passed by the Senate, faulting its failure to mandate electronic transmission of results from polling units to IREV.

The party, in a statement issued by its National Publicity Secretary, Mr Wale Martins in Abuja on Thursday, said the action amounted to giving with one hand and taking with the other.

It said that the mandatory electronic transmission of results, which it described as the most critical amendment, was ‘deliberately avoided’ to preserve a dysfunctional process benefiting Nigeria’s entrenched political class.

The party warned that any electoral act without mandatory electronic transmission to IREV invites fraud and should be firmly resisted by Nigerians.

YPP urged civil society, youth groups, labour unions and professional bodies to demand reversal of the anti-democratic decision immediately.

“Of all the proposed amendments to the Electoral Act, the most pivotal, which is the mandatory electronic transmission of results, was cleverly avoided.

“This action is deliberate and self-serving. It is designed to preserve a dysfunctional electoral process that benefits only a political class,” it said.

The party also called on President Bola Tinubu to withhold assent, insisting that mandatory electronic transmission remained vital to restoring electoral confidence.

It warned that Nigeria’s democracy must not be sacrificed for elite convenience, stressing that the will of the people must prevail in the country.

ADC faults Senate’s rejection of e-transmission of results

African Democratic Congress (ADC) has faulted the refusal by the Senate to approve electronic transmission of election results and voter card downloads aimed at giving credibility to future elections and INEC’s efficiency.

This is contained in a statement issued by its National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, on Thursday in Abuja.

Abdullahi condemned the senate for rejecting Electoral Act reforms, warning that the development threatens election credibility in Nigeria.

The party also faulted the decision by the upper chamber to reduce election notice periods and shorten the timelines for the publication of the list of candidates.

It urged Nigerians to resist the changes and called on the Electoral Act Conference Committee to overturn the senate decision and pass people-driven amendments.

“The senate also voted against key reforms that would have allowed for the electronic download of voter cards from the INEC website.

“They reduced the notice period for elections and shortened the timeline for the publication of candidates’names from 150 days to 60 days,” it said.

The party noted that the proposed provisions were intended to provide necessary safeguards against electoral abuse and restore voter confidence in the electoral process.

“As Nigeria’s leading opposition party, the ADC unequivocally condemns this retrogressive action of the senate and calls on all Nigerians to reject it,” the statement said.

Meanwhile, the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, had during the plenary on Wednesday, refuted the claim that the senate did not pass the electronic transmission of results.

He noted that the senate retained Clause 60 relating to the electronic transmission of election results, as proposed.

“The social media is already awash with the fact that the senate has rejected electronic transmission. That is not true.

“Electronic transmission has always been in our hearts. And what we did was to retain the electronic transmission, which has been in our hearts, and which was used in 2020.

“So, please, do not allow people to confuse you. If you are in doubt, we will make our final votes and proceedings available to you if you apply and you are entitled, so that you’ll see.

“This senate, under my watch, has not rejected electronic transmission of results. It’s in my interest as a participant in the next election for such to be done.

“So, please don’t go with the crowd. We have retained what was in the previous provision. That’s all we did,” Akpabio had said.