ABUJA: A former National Commissioner of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Mustapha Lecky, has stated that Nigeria is not yet ready either legally or technologically for the real-time electronic transmission of election results.
Lecky shared this view during an appearance on Politics Today, a Channels Television programme monitored by rapidospace News, where he argued that immediate electronic result uploads are unnecessary given the country’s current electoral process.
His remarks come amid public criticism directed at the Senate following its recent decision not to amend Section 60 of the Electoral Act.
The proposed amendment sought to compel INEC officials to electronically transmit election results directly from polling units to the commission’s Result Viewing Portal.
According to Lecky, discussions about instant transmission are misplaced because Nigeria still relies on manual voting rather than electronic voting systems.
“It does not really make sense to insist on live transmission of results from polling units when voting itself is not electronic,” he said, noting that the country remains far from adopting full electronic voting.
He explained that election results must first be manually counted at polling units before any upload can occur, stressing that this procedure already ensures transparency.
Voters cast paper ballots which are counted openly before officials complete the EC8A result form, a critical document signed by party agents.
Lecky described the push for immediate electronic transmission as unfounded, arguing that Nigeria lacks the required infrastructure.
He pointed out that inconsistent mobile network coverage across many polling locations could hinder effective nationwide implementation.
We are simply not technically prepared for electronic transmission at this stage, he maintained.
He also cautioned that introducing instant digital transmission without robust systems could expose elections to cyber threats, especially given the country’s still-developing digital security framework.
Even advanced democracies, he noted, continue to face challenges with election technology.
Nonetheless, the former commissioner encouraged INEC to focus on improving existing technologies such as the Result Viewing Portal and the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) until they function optimally.
What we should do is strengthen the tools already in place and ensure they work effectively,” he concluded.
