A divided House of Reps passes Electoral Act Amendment Bill

17 Jul A divided House of Reps passes Electoral Act Amendment Bill

The House of Representatives, yesterday, passed the Electoral Act (Repeal/Re-enactment) Bill, 2021, after the full consideration of the report on the bill by members in the Committee of the Whole.

The bill was passed in absence of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) members, who had earlier staged a walk-out.

The Minority Leader, Ndudi Elumelu, had led the PDP out of the chamber over the contentious section on transmission of results.

The Committee of the Whole was presided over by the Deputy Speaker, Rep. Ahmed Idris Wase, in line with the rules of the House.

The bill was subsequently read for the third time before the House adjourned for its yearly recess till September 14, 2021.

The majority of the 158 clauses of the bill were passed intact, including Clause 52 (2), which initially generated tension among members.

The clause, which provides that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) shall determine the mode of voting/transmission of election results, was left intact after attempts made by some members between Thursday and Friday to amend it failed.

The retained Clause 52 (2) reads, “Voting at election and transmission of results in this Bill shall be in accordance with the procedure determined by the Commission.”

This clause, therefore, leaves INEC with the option to use either electronic or manual transmission of results.

The Senate had last Thursday passed its own version of the Bill, which requires INEC to seek clearance from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and the National Assembly before deploying electronic transmission of election results in any part of the country.

The clause generated serious disagreement among members earlier on Thursday, following which the Speaker, Femi Gbajabiamila, invited the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to address the House on whether the country had attained the capacity to seamlessly transmit election results from across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT, using available telecommunications services.

Testifying before the lawmakers yesterday, NCC’s Director of Technical Services, Malam Ubale Maska, said that only 50.3 per cent of the 190,000 polling units in the country were covered by 2G and 3G networks.

Claiming that the remaining 49.7 per cent was without network coverage, the NCC official maintained that only a 3G network could adequately transmit the results.

Maska also admitted that INEC server was susceptible to manipulation by hackers even as the INEC Chairman, Mahmood Yakubu, failed to appear before the House to state his own side of the issue.

The House, upon receiving the briefing by the officials, resumed consideration of the bill, sticking to its decision to retain the original provision empowering INEC to determine the mode of voting and transmission of election results.

The few clauses of the bill amended were 1; 5(2); 6; 36(3)(b); 49; 87(2): and 113(1).

Addressing his colleagues after the bill was passed, Gbajabiamila thanked them for their commitment to passing it, describing the bill as a “very important” one to Nigerians.

Gbajabiamila, who touched on the burning issue of electronic transmission of results, appealed for understanding. He said much as it was the wish of many Nigerians, including himself, to have electronic transmission of results, available evidence suggested that it had yet to be possible because of the lack of capacity to deliver such a major task.

“I believe we all have been better informed by the NCC people. We wish to have electronic transmission of results, but we do not want to disenfranchise anybody.

“Even if it’s one person’s vote that will not be counted, then we have not achieved our desire to have a transparent election,” he stated.

The Speaker buttressed the point made by the NCC that no system was free from being hacked into, adding that Nigeria might be losing at the end of the day if it hurriedly opts for the electronic transmission of results.

“What we are even talking about here in our case, is electronic transmission of results; we are not talking about electronic voting. I believe we will get there one day as we continue to work on improving our electoral system,” he said.

Spokesperson of the House, Mr. Benjamin Kalu, who later briefed reporters, also adduced explanations offered by the NCC official as basis for the decision to give INEC the discretionary powers over usage of electronic transmission of poll results.

“Nobody is against electronic transmission of results. We are looking at what is on ground. It is not for people to say what they want. No Nigerian should be disenfranchised. As it stands, it is not possible for all Nigerians to be covered. We want INEC to determine what to do on the issue,” he argued.

But Elumelu, who led dozens of opposition lawmakers to brief reporters, alleged that the position of his colleagues on electronic transmission of results was part of the grand design by the APC-led administration to rig the 2023 poll.