A Civil Society Organisation, Nigeria Integrity Watch (NIW), has cautioned that making real-time electronic transmission of election results mandatory could disenfranchise millions of voters, especially in rural areas across the country.

The warning comes in the wake of the Senate’s passage of the Electoral Act 2022 (Repeal and Reenactment) Amendment Bill 2026 last week, following its third reading.

During debates on the bill, the Senate rejected a proposed amendment to Clause 60(3), which sought to make real-time electronic transmission of results by presiding officers of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) compulsory. The amendment would have required results from each polling unit to be transmitted to the INEC Result Viewing Portal immediately after result forms were signed, stamped, and countersigned by party agents.

Instead, lawmakers retained the existing provision of the 2022 Electoral Act, which allows presiding officers to transmit results “in a manner as prescribed by the Commission.”

Senate President Godswill Akpabio explained that the decision was not against electronic transmission but against the term “real-time.” He said, “All we said during the discussion was that we should remove the word ‘real-time’ because if you say real-time, then there is a network or grid failure, and the network is not working. When you go to court, somebody will say it ought to have been real-time. That was all we said.”

Reacting to the development, NIW spokesperson Dr. John Nang described the push for mandatory real-time transmission as a potential “democratic emergency,” citing Nigeria’s weak digital and power infrastructure.

The organisation noted that many rural communities, particularly those affected by insecurity, lack reliable telecommunications coverage. It warned that a rigid digital-only approach could invalidate votes from areas without stable 4G or 5G networks.

“Even making ordinary phone calls has become difficult due to frequent network failures. The feasibility of transmitting sensitive election data seamlessly in real-time under current conditions is in doubt,” the statement said.

NIW also raised concerns about Nigeria’s unstable power supply, pointing out that frequent national grid collapses could disrupt elections if electronic transmission is made compulsory. On sovereignty issues, the group noted that Nigeria does not have full control over its satellite infrastructure, warning that excessive reliance on external digital systems could compromise the electoral process.

“We recall that the Supreme Court has recognised electronic transmission of results as supplementary rather than a replacement for manual collation, which it described as a critical safeguard of the electoral process,” NIW added.

The organisation urged policymakers and civil society groups to prioritise infrastructure development. It also called on the Nigerian Communications Commission and telecom operators to ensure nationwide internet coverage before enforcing mandatory real-time transmission of election results.