Protesters returned to the National Assembly of Nigeria on Monday, urging lawmakers to make real-time electronic transmission of election results compulsory in the Electoral Act Amendment Bill, 2026.
The demonstrators, drawn from civil society groups such as Situation Room Nigeria and ActionAid Nigeria, argued that manual collation should be completely removed to prevent manipulation at collation centres. They insisted full transparency can only be guaranteed if results are transmitted electronically from polling units without fallback to manual procedures.
Security operatives blocked entrances to the National Assembly complex, forcing the protesters to demonstrate outside the main gates. The renewed protest follows a five-day pause after assurances given to the groups during last week’s Senate session.
The demonstrations coincide with recent controversy over Clause 60(3) of the Electoral Act Amendment Bill. Last Tuesday, the Senate debated a proposal to remove “real-time” from the clause and replace “transmission” with “transfer,” ultimately approving electronic transmission to INEC’s Result Viewing Portal while retaining manual collation as a backup for technical failures. Protesters have vowed to sustain pressure until mandatory real-time e-transmission is fully guaranteed in the amended law.
