The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has tasked the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on electronic transmission of results from polling units in the 2023 general elections.
In a statement on Tuesday by spokesman for the PDP, Kola Ologbondiyan, the party said the electoral body would have no excuse not to use the electronic direct transmission of results in the 2023 general elections and other coming polls.
The party said its position is predicated on INEC’s announcement of its readiness to conduct online (electronic) registration of voters for future elections in the country.
The PDP noted that since INEC is now in the position to deploy technology to conduct online registration of voters, which entails electronic transmission of voters’ data to its central server, the commission can also deploy electronic transmission of results directly from the polling unit to its central server.
The statement reads: “Our party calls the attention of the commission to the fact that it no longer has any excuse not to employ the direct transmission of results from polling units, which will ensure credible elections by eliminating manipulations, alterations, switching and disappearance of election results during manual collation processes.
“The PDP insists that if INEC can use the electronic platform for registration of voters it could as well deploys the same technology for electronic transmission of results in future elections including the 2023 general elections.
“Our party however urges INEC to ensure that the online registration of voters is credible, transparent and not open to the manipulations of desperate politicians, particularly in the All Progressives Congress (APC)”.
The PDP also called on the leadership of the APC in the National Assembly to know that it has no further pretext to continue to sit on the Electoral Act amendment bill and frustrate genuine effort to ensure credible, free and fair elections in the country.
The main opposition party accused the APC-led administration as well as the APC leadership in the National Assembly of using every available means to frustrate the electronic transmission of results, saying that they have realised that there is no way their party can win in a transparent, free and fair election at any level in the country.
“We therefore urge Nigerians to intensify their efforts in the collective quest to rescue our country from misrule by adding their voices to the demand by our party for electronic transmission of results in future elections and particularly, the 2023 general elections”, the party said.