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ABUJA, NIGERIA — The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria, HURIWA, has thrown its full weight behind the proposed independent transmission and monitoring of polling-unit results by the Presidential candidate of the National Democratic Congress, NDC, Mr. Peter Obi, declaring that greater transparency cannot be a threat to democracy.
The rights group said yesterday that political parties, civil society organisations, accredited observers and other stakeholders should be allowed to independently document and monitor election results, provided they operate within the law and do not interfere with the statutory responsibilities of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.
HURIWA’s position followed Obi’s disclosure during an interview on Arise TV that his campaign would establish a system capable of receiving and monitoring results from polling units as they are recorded during the 2027 general elections.
In a statement signed by its National Coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Nnadozie Onwubiko, the organisation argued that the initiative could help restore public confidence in elections by providing an independent trail through which results declared at collation centres could be compared with what was actually recorded at polling units.
HURIWA insisted that such an arrangement should not be interpreted as an attempt to create a parallel electoral commission.
According to the group, INEC remains Nigeria’s constitutionally recognised electoral management body, but this does not prevent other stakeholders from independently documenting the electoral process.
The rights organisation said the central issue should be transparency and accountability rather than institutional rivalry.
It argued that INEC’s official result-transmission system and independent monitoring mechanisms could operate simultaneously, providing additional layers of verification and making manipulation of results more difficult.
HURIWA said the question Nigerians should be asking ahead of 2027 was straightforward: whether the results eventually announced at collation centres could be traced to the votes counted and recorded at individual polling units.
“If the answer is yes, then every additional mechanism that helps citizens, political parties and observers verify the figures should be regarded as an asset to democracy rather than a threat,” the group said.
The organisation warned that Nigeria had experienced sufficient electoral controversies to appreciate the danger of a system in which citizens and stakeholders are unable to independently reconcile polling-unit results with figures announced at higher levels of collation.
It therefore welcomed Obi’s initiative and similar lawful transparency mechanisms that could emerge from other political parties and civil society organisations.
HURIWA said the preservation of contemporaneous evidence from polling units could make it substantially more difficult for figures to be altered without detection.
However, it cautioned political parties and civil society groups against crossing the line into interference with the electoral process.
The group said every independent monitoring arrangement must comply with existing laws and must not obstruct electoral officials, intimidate voters or interfere with the collation of results.
INEC Asked To Publish Clear Rules
HURIWA also challenged INEC to engage stakeholders rather than treat independent scrutiny as an institutional threat.
It called on the electoral commission to engage political parties, civil society organisations, accredited election observers and technology experts on mechanisms through which independent result-monitoring systems could complement the official electoral process.
The organisation further demanded that INEC publish clear and unambiguous guidelines on the use of technology, result documentation and independent transmission by political parties and accredited stakeholders before the 2027 elections.
It also called for stronger protection and preservation of polling-unit results, insisting that results declared at the polling units should be properly documented, accessible to authorised stakeholders and securely preserved for subsequent verification.
HURIWA maintained that technology should be used to eliminate uncertainty surrounding elections, rather than create another layer of secrecy.
The organisation said Nigerians should not be forced to wait until the final declaration of results before determining whether figures announced at the various levels of collation correspond with results recorded at polling units.
‘Every Vote Must Be Verifiable’
According to the rights group, the 2027 elections provide Nigeria with an opportunity to move beyond repeated assurances about electoral credibility and build an electoral system in which every stage of voting and results management is independently verifiable.
It consequently urged political parties, CSOs, professional bodies, religious organisations, election observers and the media to develop lawful voter-transparency initiatives ahead of the elections.
Such measures, it said, should include voter education, deployment of trained polling-unit agents, photographic documentation of results where legally permissible, secure result archiving and independent monitoring of the collation process.
HURIWA stressed that these measures should not be regarded as attempts to undermine INEC but as additional safeguards for protecting the integrity of the ballot.
It further urged the electoral commission to embrace constructive scrutiny, arguing that an electoral body committed to credible elections should have no reason to fear independent verification of results it receives and declares.
The organisation also reminded other actors that the responsibility for credible elections does not rest on INEC alone.
It said political parties must respect electoral rules, candidates must accept lawful outcomes, security agencies must remain neutral, observers must remain impartial, while voters must be protected from intimidation.
“No Nigerian should be punished or intimidated for demanding that his or her vote be accurately counted and properly reflected in the final result,” HURIWA declared.
The rights group consequently called on the Federal Government, INEC, political parties and security agencies to create an atmosphere where independent electoral monitoring is encouraged rather than criminalised.
HURIWA maintained that the ultimate objective of the 2027 elections should be to ensure that no individual, political party or institution can simply announce figures that cannot be traced to votes recorded at the polling units.
“The 2027 election must be an election in which every vote counts, every result is verifiable and every legitimate challenge has access to credible evidence,” the organisation said.
It therefore urged all stakeholders to support lawful initiatives capable of strengthening transparency, accountability and public confidence in Nigeria’s electoral process.
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