{"id":193645,"date":"2026-02-05T12:45:51","date_gmt":"2026-02-05T11:45:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/uncategorized\/public-apathy-will-worsen-without-electoral-transparency"},"modified":"2026-02-05T13:50:04","modified_gmt":"2026-02-05T12:50:04","slug":"public-apathy-will-worsen-without-electoral-transparency","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/public-apathy-will-worsen-without-electoral-transparency","title":{"rendered":"Public Apathy Will Worsen Without Electoral Transparency"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Nigeria. <\/strong><\/span>The Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD) has warned that Nigerians\u2019 trust in the electoral process is at risk following the Senate\u2019s decision to reject mandatory real-time transmission of election results in the Electoral Act Amendment Bill 2026.<\/p>\n

Speaking at an emergency press briefing in Kano on Wednesday, CITAD Executive Director Comrade Y. Z. Ya\u2019u said the Senate\u2019s action undermines efforts to strengthen transparency and accountability in the electoral system ahead of the 2027 general elections.<\/p>\n

\u201cNigerians were particularly pleased when INEC assured the public that election results would be transmitted electronically. That assurance was seen as a safeguard against manipulation during collation and a pathway to restoring public confidence,\u201d Ya\u2019u said.<\/p>\n

Ya\u2019u stressed that previous gaps in the law contributed to weakened election petitions after the 2023 elections. He noted that malpractice often occurs during the collation and tabulation of results, not at polling units, making electronic transmission crucial to credible elections.<\/p>\n

Ya\u2019u explained that the harmonised amendment bill, developed after years of public hearings and consultations, clearly mandated electronic transmission, introduced penalties for erring INEC officials, and enhanced the independence of the commission.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese provisions are essential for rebuilding public trust. Rejecting them sends the wrong signal to Nigerians,\u201d Ya\u2019u added.<\/p>\n

CITAD also expressed concern over declining voter turnout, warning that public apathy would worsen if electoral transparency is not guaranteed.<\/p>\n

\u201cBy refusing to make electronic transmission mandatory, the Senate has chosen ambiguity over clarity and discretion over certainty. This decision threatens the credibility of the 2027 elections,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

The group noted that the House of Representatives had passed the Electoral Act Amendment Bill in December 2025, leaving concurrence by the Senate as the final step before presidential assent.<\/p>\n

Ya\u2019u criticised the Senate for failing to act on the bill before embarking on an extended recess last year and for not prioritising it upon resumption on January 27, 2026.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith INEC legally required to publish the timetable for the 2027 elections by April, the continued uncertainty over which Electoral Act will apply is dangerous,\u201d he warned.<\/p>\n

CITAD\u2019s condemnation followed the Senate\u2019s passage of the Electoral Bill 2026, during which lawmakers rejected a proposed amendment to clause 60 that sought to make real-time electronic transmission of results from polling units compulsory.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Nigeria<\/span> Follow Africa-Press<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Nigeria. The Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD) has warned that Nigerians\u2019 trust in the electoral process is at risk following the Senate\u2019s decision to reject mandatory real-time transmission of election results in the Electoral Act Amendment Bill 2026. Speaking at an emergency press briefing in Kano on Wednesday, CITAD Executive Director […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":193644,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,14],"tags":[254],"class_list":["post-193645","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-policy","tag-nigeria"],"yoast_head":"\nPublic Apathy Will Worsen Without Electoral Transparency - Nigeria<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD) has warned that Nigerians\u2019 trust in the electoral process ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/public-apathy-will-worsen-without-electoral-transparency\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Public Apathy Will Worsen Without Electoral Transparency\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD) has warned that Nigerians\u2019 trust in the electoral process ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/public-apathy-will-worsen-without-electoral-transparency\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Nigeria\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-02-05T11:45:51+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-02-05T12:50:04+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/sites\/3\/2026\/02\/sm_1770295739.75955.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"720\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/public-apathy-will-worsen-without-electoral-transparency#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/public-apathy-will-worsen-without-electoral-transparency\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Public Apathy Will Worsen Without Electoral Transparency\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-02-05T11:45:51+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-02-05T12:50:04+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/public-apathy-will-worsen-without-electoral-transparency\"},\"wordCount\":393,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/public-apathy-will-worsen-without-electoral-transparency#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/sites\/3\/2026\/02\/sm_1770295739.75955.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Nigeria\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"Policy\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/public-apathy-will-worsen-without-electoral-transparency#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/public-apathy-will-worsen-without-electoral-transparency\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/public-apathy-will-worsen-without-electoral-transparency\",\"name\":\"Public Apathy Will Worsen Without Electoral Transparency - 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