A civil society organisation (CSO), Enough is Enough (EiE) Nigeria, has condemned the Senate’s amendment of the Electoral Bill.

Following public backlash over the Senate’s compulsory electronic transmission of results from polling units to IREV, the upper chamber of the bicameral legislature succumbed to pressure on Tuesday by retaining a provision allowing manual collation of election results in regions with poor internet connectivity.

While justifying its decision, the Senate cited “network failure” as justification for its stance. This has generated another round of backlash from commentators and CSOs, such as EiE Nigeria.

In a statement released on Wednesday, EiE Nigeria expressed strong displeasure with the development, noting that it would set Nigeria up for another cycle of disputed elections.

EiE Executive Director, Ufuoma Nnamdi-Udeh, described it as a calculated insult to the intelligence of the Nigerian people, adding that it is flawed and dangerous.

“The Senate’s ‘cosmetic’ amendment to the Electoral Act is nothing short of a calculated insult to the intelligence of the Nigerian people. By creating a convenient ‘network failure’ escape clause, they have essentially legalised electoral fraud. This is not the reform Nigerians demanded, protested for, and deserve. We will not accept half-measures that preserve the same loopholes that made 2023 a credibility nightmare,” said Nnamdi-Udeh.

She further noted that the Senate created a legal framework for deliberate sabotage in Nigeria, enabling the disruption of network infrastructure. According to her, the provision turns technical failure into a tool for manipulating election results.

Nnamdi-Udeh recalled glitches during the 2023 elections when results from polling units in critical areas mysteriously failed to upload, forcing electoral officers to resort to manual collation. She noted that it opened a window for electoral officers to manipulate results. She added that rather than finding solutions to that, the Senate legitimised it.

“A joint committee of INEC and the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) found that network operators could cover approximately 93% of polling units around the 2019 elections, leaving only about 7% as gaps. Yet the Senate’s clause treats network failure as the norm rather than the exception, creating a blanket excuse that could be invoked across 100% of polling units, not just the legitimate 7%.

“In the absence of these safeguards, “network failure” becomes a convenient excuse deployable anywhere, anytime, particularly in politically sensitive areas where results mightnot favour certain interests. Nigeria’s patchy telecommunications infrastructure, rather than being improved, becomes weaponised as justification for opacity.”

She also criticised the Senate for removing “real-time” from the provision. This move, according to the EiE Executive Director, reveals the Senate’s true intentions.

“Real-time transmission eliminates the time gap between voting and result declaration, the very window that enables manipulation. By permitting delayed transmission, the Senate preserves opportunities for interference between polling units and collation centres. The argument that transmission will occur “after Form EC8A has been duly signed” is meaningless without a time-bound requirement. “After” could mean minutes, hours, or days, during which results can be compromised,” she added.