Nigerians angry after MPs reject live publication of election results

ABUJA, NIGERIA - Hundreds of people protested outside the national parliament in Nigeria on Monday after lawmakers rejected a move forcing polling stations to publish their election results electronically as soon as voting ends.

The Senate's decision -- a year before Nigeria's next general election -- sparked outrage in Africa's most populous country.

"What we want is an electoral process that is transparent from the beginning to finish," opposition leader Peter Obi told journalists at the march.

The electoral law currently says polling stations must upload their election results to a central platform open to the public -- but not in real time.

Protesters marched to the National Assembly in the capital, Abuja, brandishing placards saying: "Election transparency is the minimum" and "My vote must count".

Nigeria goes to the polls in the first quarter of 2027 to elect a president, most state governors, and both state and national lawmakers.

Over the past decade, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has introduced technology designed to improve the integrity of election results.

But this has had little success and post-election litigations are commonplace.

Experts told AFP they believed public trust in the election process would improve if the country's 176,000 polling units were forced to publish their results instantaneously on a centralised public website.

Voter turnout in the country has been thinning over the last decade, as many people believe their vote isn't taken into account.

"What we are looking for right now is mandatory real-time transmission, which is not really too much to ask for," said Chibuike Mgbeahuruike, an election consultant at the Centre for Democracy and Development West Africa.

When they examined the proposed changes to the electoral law last week, senators did vote to cut the notice period for announcing elections from 360 days to 180.

But Mgbeahuruike said this would create a "logistic nightmare" for polls organiser INEC.

The Senate has called an emergency sitting for Tuesday following public frustration over voting procedures.

Election turnout has dwindled in recent years.

The 2023 presidential election recorded a turnout of just 27%, the lowest since the nation returned to democratic rule in 1999.

In May 2025, MPs were forced to scrap a bill that proposed a six -month jail term or a 100,000-naira ($73) fine for eligible voters who failed to cast their ballots, following a public outcry.