For Funmi Adebayo, a 34-year-old tailor in Surulere, Lagos, the promise of technology in Nigeria’s 2023 presidential election felt like a turning point. When the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) assured voters that polling unit results would be uploaded to its Result Viewing Portal (IReV) in near real-time, expectations soared.
But as she refreshed her phone repeatedly without seeing the presidential results uploaded, that optimism faded. “It felt like 2019 all over again,” she recalls.
Two years later, that frustration has evolved into a broader national debate ahead of the 2027 general election: Should electronic transmission of results be made mandatory, or should manual collation remain legally valid when technology fails?
The controversy escalated when the Nigerian Senate initially removed a clause in the Electoral Amendment Bill that required real-time electronic transmission. Lawmakers cited infrastructure challenges and judicial precedent favouring manually signed Form EC8A results.
Senate spokesman Yemi Adaramodu questioned the practicality of “real-time” uploads in areas with poor connectivity, arguing that network limitations could defeat the intent of the reform.
Public backlash followed swiftly. Civil society groups and opposition leaders staged protests at the National Assembly, framing the decision as a threat to electoral credibility. Former Transport Minister Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi openly questioned lawmakers’ motives, asking why electronic transmission should inspire fear if elections were truly transparent.
Under mounting pressure, the Senate reversed its stance. The revised bill now permits electronic transmission but retains manual collation as a fallback where technical failures occur — a compromise some view as pragmatic and others see as a loophole.
The debate has fractured reform advocates. Samson Itodo of Yiaga Africa insists that mandatory real-time transmission is essential for restoring voter confidence in 2027.
Conversely, Ezenwa Nwagwu of the Peering Advocacy and Advancement Centre in Africa cautions against oversimplifying the issue, arguing that public distrust cannot be attributed solely to manual processes. Elections, he notes, inevitably produce winners and losers — and grievances often follow.
Former INEC National Commissioner Mustapha Lecky has also urged caution, stating bluntly that Nigeria may not yet be technically prepared for universal real-time uploads. With nearly 176,846 polling units nationwide and broadband penetration hovering around 50 percent, connectivity gaps remain significant, especially in rural areas.
INEC’s experience in the 2025 Anambra governorship election — where over 99 percent of results were uploaded — demonstrated progress. Yet scaling that success to a nationwide presidential contest involving over 90 million registered voters presents a far greater logistical challenge.
International precedents underscore the risk. Kenya’s 2013 results transmission system struggled with connectivity failures, delaying announcements and fuelling allegations of manipulation. Technology, experts argue, cannot compensate for absent infrastructure.
The legal landscape further complicates matters. Following the 2023 elections, courts ruled that while electronic transmission is permissible, signed paper forms remain the legal benchmark. Reform advocates contend that legislators must clarify the law to remove ambiguity.
Political heavyweights, including former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, have warned that retaining manual fallback provisions could undermine transparency. Others argue that eliminating manual options risks disenfranchising voters in areas with genuine connectivity failures.
For some observers, the debate extends beyond systems and statutes. Nosa Osaikhuiwu, a Nigerian IT professional based in the United States, argues that the deeper crisis is ethical rather than technical. “We are trying to digitise a moral problem,” he says, suggesting that technology cannot substitute for integrity.
Civil society groups stress that electronic transmission is only one element of broader electoral reform. Proposals include earlier funding for INEC, stronger campaign finance regulation, improved voter registration processes, and the establishment of an electoral offences commission.
With President Bola Ahmed Tinubu having signed the Electoral Act 2026 into law and INEC releasing its timetable for 2027, attention now turns to implementation. Devices must function reliably. Networks must remain stable. Officials must comply strictly with procedure. Courts must interpret disputes consistently.
Electronic transmission, if dependable, could narrow opportunities for manipulation between polling units and collation centres. Yet it may not eliminate suspicion in a politically divided society.
As Nigeria edges toward 2027, the argument over result transmission has become a proxy for a deeper democratic question: can technology alone rebuild public trust, or must institutional culture and political acceptance evolve alongside digital reform?
“I want to believe it will be different,” she says quietly. “But wanting and believing are not the same.”