Convener of Situation Room, Ene Obi, who gave this warning, yesterday, in Abuja at a conference, urged President Muhammadu Buhari to decline assent if the parliament fails to do the needful before transmission.
According to Obi, passing the electoral bill into law without addressing the salient issue of the use of technology will largely undermine the gains recorded so far in the nation’s elections as well as the efforts of stakeholders.
She said: “The proposed provision of Clause 50 (2) will only undermine INEC’s (Independent National Electoral Commission) power and discretion to make any far-reaching progress on the use of technology in elections.
“Providing for electronic voting but prohibiting electronic transmission of results is restrictive and hardly constitutes meaningful progress in this regard.
“Situation Room calls on the National Assembly to reconsider the provisions of the electoral bill 2021, particularly Clause 50 (2), to allow for both electronic voting and electronic transmission of results.
“Situation Room calls on the Assembly to pass the provision of Clause 50 (2) that reflects the version of the draft bill agreed on by the joint Senate and House of Representatives committee on INEC and electoral matters.”
