The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Edo State has condemned the decision of the Senate to make real-time electronic transmission of election results optional, describing the move as a threat to Nigeria’s electoral integrity and democratic progress.

The party, in a statement issued on Wednesday by its Publicity Secretary, Dan Osa-Ogbegie, said the decision represents a “retrogressive move” capable of undermining transparency and public confidence in elections.

The PDP said the development amounts to a deliberate attempt to weaken democratic safeguards and encourage manipulation of election outcomes.

“Our people bear the daily cost of wrong choices imposed through flawed elections: collapsing public services, insecurity, economic hardship, and a governance culture divorced from accountability,” the statement read.

“At this historic juncture, the Nigerian people must be allowed to freely choose those who superintend over their affairs. That freedom is hollow unless all facilities for free, fair, transparent, and verifiable elections are firmly entrenched in law and practice.”

The party stressed that electronic transmission of results remains central to credible elections.

“Real-time transmission of results is not a luxury. It is the backbone of modern electoral credibility. It deters manipulation at collation centres, closes the gap between polling units and final tallies, and restores public confidence. To make it ‘optional’ is to re-open the dark corridors where figures are manufactured, mandates are traded, and the will of the people is subverted,” the statement noted.

The Edo PDP said Nigeria made significant progress in electoral reforms under past administrations, particularly those of former Presidents Umaru Musa Yar’Adua and Goodluck Jonathan.

It said, “History is instructive. Under the Peoples Democratic Party, particularly during the administrations of President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua and President Goodluck Jonathan, Nigeria took decisive steps to strengthen the independence of the electoral umpire and to deepen public trust in elections.

“Reforms were pursued in good faith. Elections became more competitive. Institutions breathed. Indeed, President Yar’Adua openly acknowledged imperfections and set in motion reforms that culminated in credible processes, while President Jonathan’s tenure entrenched an atmosphere where the ballot counted and incumbency could be defeated.”

The opposition party also accused the ruling All Progressives Congress of attempting to undermine electoral transparency since assuming power.

“Since the advent of the APC, Nigeria has been dragged downhill on virtually every front. Most alarming is the descent into mindless election rigging and the normalisation of impunity. Instead of consolidating transparency through technology, the APC is now engineering legal escape routes to weaken it.

“One must therefore ask the obvious question: why is the APC afraid of the people freely electing who they want? How can a President who boasts of having governors, ministers, and senators in his pocket be frightened of a transparent process that merely transmits results as cast at the polling unit?” it added.

Call For Reversal, Public Action

The PDP insisted that the Senate’s decision was aimed at tightening political control rather than promoting flexibility.

“The Senate decision is not about flexibility. It is about control. It is about muzzling the opposition, constricting civic space, and railroading a predetermined outcome upon a weary nation. Nigeria is too fragile for this recklessness. Democracy cannot survive where rulers fear transparency and legislatures legislate opacity,” the statement noted.

The party called on the Senate to reconsider its position and urged Nigerians and the international community to resist any move capable of undermining democratic processes.

“We call on the Senate to immediately reconsider and upturn this dangerous decision. We urge all well-meaning Nigerians, civil society organisations, professional bodies, and the media to rise in defence of the ballot.

“We also call on the international community to pay close attention and to intervene to stop the ruling party and the President from plunging Nigeria into avoidable crises through anti-democratic engineering.

“Nigeria deserves better. Our people deserve a future chosen by them, not imposed on them. The path to stability, legitimacy, and progress lies in transparent elections, not in legislative sleight of hand,” the opposition party concluded.