e-Transmission of Voting: Who Determines When Network Goes Down
Apkabio
e-Transmission is a Democratic Evolution to Embrace.
Democracy in Nigeria has matured enough for people to be more decisive. The heated argument on electronic (e-transmission) of election results has surpassed the phase it is seen as mere conversation-it is a show of commitment to transparency, credibility and public trust.
It will be understandable to say that since the inception of the fourth republic, the most obvious area of concern in Nigeria’s electoral process has not always been voting itself, but the collation and transmission of results. Alteration of result sheet, snatching of ballot, error in manual collation, and logistical hurdles have continuously reduced voters’ confidence. The real election controversy often time starts during the movement of results from one collation centre to another. E-transmission presents a practical solution.
I believe uploading election results directly from polling units where votes are cast and counted, to a central server in real time mitigates human interference, reduce logistical controversy, and create a trusted digital trail. It allows both citizens and observers to reconcile figures, and it increases transparency. Arguments around the unreliability of Nigeria’s internet infrastructure is baseless. While I agree connectivity challenges exist, Nigerians have already demonstrated through banking, telecommunications, and digital identity systems that technology can function nationwide—even in rural areas. Moreover, results can be uploaded once connectivity becomes accessible, preserving integrity without compromising inclusion. The real issue is not technology—it is political will.
Developing countries such as Nigeria with similar infrastructure challenges have successfully adopted electronic result transmission because the vast majority chose transparency over convenience. If Nigeria truly seeks credible elections, e-transmission should not be politicized; it should be strengthened, audited, and continuously improved. Democracy thrives where votes are protected.
e-transmission is not a magic wand and does not guarantee a perfect election. It will not eliminate vote-buying, violence, or judicial disputes. But it significantly reduces one of the most vulnerable stages of Nigeria’s electoral process: manual result handling. We must also look at the lacuna of the option of manual uploading should server is down. Who determines manual upload?
At this stage of Nigeria’s democracy, insisting on purely manual transmission appears less like caution and more like resistance to accountability.
