•Says senators don't want transparency

Former Vice-President of the World Bank, Dr Obiageli 'Oby' Ezekwesili, has said the Senate, with its recent rejection of real-time transmission of election results, committed a coup against the country's democracy and its people.

In a statement, Ezekwesili noted that what all well-meaning Nigerians want passed by the National Assembly as the Independent National Electoral Commission reform "is a bill which legally mandates electronic transmission of polling unit results in real time" without any condition attached.

However, she asserted that the Senate was working towards undermining transparency in the electoral process.

According to her, what Nigerians want is what the members of the House of Representatives have already passed, with this simple and honest text: "Clause 60(3): 'INEC shall electronically transmit election results from polling units to the INEC Result Viewing Portal in real time, and such transmission shall be done simultaneously with the physical collation of results.' Period!"

She condemned as "a grave danger to our democracy" the proviso that the Senate added to Clause 60(3): "If electronic transmission fails or becomes impossible to use, the signed Form EC8A shall be the primary source of election results."

The proviso, she pointed out, will permanently damage the transparency that citizens are demanding in all election results.

She added: "Your vote and mine can never count with such a deceptive and ill-intended proviso by the Senate.

"The senators know what they are doing. They don't want transparency. Transparency through electronic transmission of results in real time at each polling unit will end their opportunity to rig our elections."

She alleged that the Senate "is determined to hijack Nigeria's democracy and continue with their bad governance", which is perpetuating poverty among Nigerians and killings across the land.

"We, the citizens of Nigeria, not politicians, are the real owners of democracy. We must collectively stand to defend our right to transparency," she emphasised.

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