PDP Challenges Senate Election Move

PDP Challenges Senate Election Move

The Peoples Democratic Party has criticised the Senate over the inclusion of a manual result transmission clause in the Electoral Amendment Bill, saying the move weakens efforts to protect Nigeria’s elections.

The party said the decision raises concerns about the sincerity of lawmakers on electoral reforms ahead of 2027.

The reaction followed days of protests across Abuja, led by opposition figures and civil groups, after the Senate initially rejected real-time electronic transmission of results.

Lawmakers later approved electronic transmission to INEC’s Result Viewing Portal, allowing manual collation only if technology fails, after revisiting the clause during an emergency plenary session.

Responding to the development, the PDP said the adjustment does not address the core issue.

The party stated, “We have taken note of the outcome of the Senate’s reconsideration of its earlier position on the real-time electronic transmission of election results, wherein an addendum was introduced to permit manual transmission where technology is said to fail.

We hold the firm view that this addendum is nothing more than a backdoor attempt to achieve the same objective as the earlier outright rejection, while pretending to align with the wishes of the Nigerian people.”

The PDP further argued that “Manual transmission is already sufficiently provided for under the Electoral Act.

The current agitation for electronic transmission is aimed at introducing a second-layer authentication mechanism that prevents the alteration of results en route to collation centres — a malpractice that has historically been the bane of Nigeria’s electoral process.”

The party urged lawmakers to adopt the House of Representatives’ version of the bill and called on Nigerians to stay firm in demanding credible elections.