Opposition lawmakers in the House of Representatives on Tuesday staged a walkout during plenary, rejecting proposed amendments to the Electoral Act and insisting that electronically transmitted election results must override manually collated figures in cases of discrepancy.
The aggrieved lawmakers, who later addressed journalists at the House Press Corps Centre, said they could not support any clause that may open the door to electoral manipulation or weaken transparency in the conduct of elections.
Speaking on behalf of the opposition caucus, Minority Leader, Kingsley Chinda, said their position was firm that elections must be concluded in a manner that guarantees credibility and public trust.
“Our position is clear: any clause capable of creating connotation for rigging or giving leeway for uncoordinated actions must be removed from the bill,” he stated.
The lawmakers stressed that the authority to determine critical electoral procedures should reside solely with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), without what they described as political interference from the legislature or ruling party interests.
On the contentious issue of result transmission, the opposition maintained that where there is a conflict between manually collated results and electronically transmitted results, the electronically transmitted version should prevail immediately to prevent tampering and disputes.
According to them, strengthening electronic transmission would boost transparency and reinforce public confidence in Nigeria’s electoral process.
The lawmakers further alleged that their proposals were rejected by members of the All Progressives Congress (APC), not on procedural or legal grounds, but along party lines.
“We believe Nigerians should stand with us to protect the integrity of the electoral process,” one of the lawmakers said, adding that consultations would continue to galvanise public support for their position.
The opposition caucus also reiterated its stance on Section 84 of the Electoral Act, which addresses the mode of party primaries. They argued that political parties should retain the freedom to determine their preferred method of candidate selection, whether direct or indirect primaries, without being compelled by statutory provisions.
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They maintained that allowing such flexibility would strengthen internal party democracy and promote broader participation in the political process.
The development signals renewed tension within the Green Chamber over electoral reforms, as lawmakers remain sharply divided on provisions considered crucial to the credibility of future elections.
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