[Standard Daily Press Editorial]
The Nigerian Senate, in a move that can only be described as a strategic assault on democracy, has officially voted to preserve the shadows.
By rejecting the amendment to Clause 60 of the Electoral Act—which sought to make the real-time, mandatory electronic transmission of results from polling units to the IReV portal compulsory—the upper chamber has signaled its preference for a system that is opaque, manipulatable, and fundamentally dishonest.
As Distinguished Senator Rowland Owie, KSJI, rightly observed, this is not a mere legislative disagreement; it is a “grave regression” and a “calculated blow against the sovereign will of the Nigerian voter.”
*Protecting the Loopholes of 2023*
The Senate President’s defense—that the chamber merely retained the 2022 provision—is a disingenuous attempt to gaslight a nation still traumatized by the “technical glitches” of 2023. We remember vividly: in the last general election, results for the National Assembly were transmitted with ease, yet the Presidential results were stalled in a fog of “discretionary procedures.”
By refusing to make transmission mandatory, the 10th National Assembly is intentionally leaving the door open for a repeat of that fraud. They have chosen to “protect loopholes” and “preserve uncertainty” over the modern democratic imperative of real-time verification.
*The Pattern of Regression*
Senator Owie’s condemnation hits the nail on the head: “Reforms that entrench transparency are resisted, while ambiguities that favor incumbency are carefully preserved.” This pattern is unmistakable. From the reduction of election notice timelines to the refusal to impose stiff penalties for PVC trading, the legislative establishment is building a fortress around itself, insulated from the will of the people.
Democracy is not static; it must evolve with technology. If the banking sector can transmit trillions of Naira securely and instantly, why must our votes be subjected to “manual collation” and “backroom revisions” that take days to materialize?
*A Call to Global Vigilance*
The _Standard_ Daily_ Press_ refuses to remain silent while the democratic promise is bartered away for political survival. We are calling on the international community to recognize that Nigeria’s 2027 elections are already under threat.
*To the United Nations and the US President, Donald Trump*: We urge you to look beyond diplomatic niceties. A Nigeria with a compromised electoral system is a Nigeria prone to instability. We ask for a clear stand against this legislative backsliding.
*To the US Parliament and Global Lovers of Democracy*: The ethos of democracy is built on the transparency of the ballot. To ignore the deliberate weakening of Nigeria’s electoral laws is to be complicit in the disenfranchisement of 200 million people.
*To President Bola Ahmed Tinubu*: As the leader of the Executive, the buck stops at your desk. We demand a reversal of this decision. We demand that the electronic transmission of results be made a mandatory, non-negotiable component of our law.
*The Ultimatum*
The credibility of the constitutional order is at stake. The _Standard_ Daily_ Press_ joins Senator Owie and the ADC in demanding an electoral framework that meets modern norms. If the National Assembly continues this path of opacity, we call on the international community to bring the weight of sanctions upon those who actively undermine the democratic process in Nigeria.
The voters of Nigeria are not “Stalin’s chickens,” following the hand that plucks them for a few grains of palliatives. We are a people deserving of a system that is transparent, verifiable, and beyond manipulation.
Voters decide elections—not “manner as prescribed by the Commission.”
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