Nigeria not ready for real-time e-transmission of election results – Lecky, ex-INEC commissioner
Former INEC Commissioner Says Nigeria Not Ready for Real-Time Election Results Transmission
By Emmanuel Okogba
A former National Commissioner of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Mustapha Lecky, expressed concerns regarding Nigeria’s preparedness for mandatory real-time electronic transmission of election results from polling units.
In an appearance on Channels Television’s “Politics Today” program on Friday, Lecky criticized the ongoing push for instantaneous result uploads, arguing that the country remains dependent on manual voting with paper ballots rather than electronic systems.
“It doesn’t really make sense to me that we should be talking about instantaneous transmission of results live as they are happening from the polling area,” he said.
Lecky emphasized that results must first be manually counted and verified at polling units, with the presence of party agents, before any transmission. He highlighted the importance of the EC8A form, signed by party agents, as a legal document in the electoral process.
“We don’t do electronic voting anywhere. Are we doing electronic voting? We are very far away from it,” he asserted.
Furthermore, Lecky noted that existing tools, such as INEC’s Result Viewing Portal (IReV) and the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS), could provide adequate transparency if implemented correctly. However, he pointed out that Nigeria’s infrastructure, particularly the reliability of mobile network coverage in rural areas, is insufficient for supporting real-time electronic transmission without risking failures or cyber vulnerabilities.
“For electronic transmission, we are not ready. We are not technically ready,” he warned, cautioning that a hasty implementation could pose greater risks to the electoral process in a country with limited digital resilience.
Lecky urged INEC to concentrate on enhancing current systems instead of introducing untested mandatory real-time transmission requirements. He noted that even more technologically advanced democracies face challenges related to election technology, further underlining the necessity for careful preparation in Nigeria.
His remarks come amid ongoing public and legislative discussions concerning electoral reforms ahead of upcoming elections.
