By BONIFACE AKARAH

The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has thrown its full support behind the proposed independent transmission of polling-unit results by the presidential candidate of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, saying additional mechanisms for verifying election results would strengthen public confidence in the 2027 electoral process.

In a statement issued on September 11, 2026, and signed by Comrade Emmanuel Nnadozie Onwubiko, National Coordinator, HURIWA, the rights group said Obi’s proposal deserved serious consideration, provided it operated within the law and did not interfere with the statutory responsibilities of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

Obi had said in an interview with ARISE News that his team would establish a system capable of transmitting results from polling units to its own situation room while the official results were also transmitted through the designated INEC platform.

HURIWA said the proposal was a welcome initiative because political parties, civil society organisations, accredited observers and citizens should have lawful means of independently monitoring what happens at polling units.

“There is nothing inherently wrong with political parties, CSOs or other stakeholders developing independent systems for documenting and transmitting polling-unit results, provided such mechanisms do not interfere with the statutory responsibilities of INEC,” the association said.

The rights group stressed that independent result monitoring should not be confused with the creation of a parallel electoral commission, maintaining that INEC would remain the constitutionally recognised electoral management body.

“HURIWA stresses that an independent monitoring system is not the same thing as establishing a parallel electoral commission,” the statement said, adding that INEC’s official transmission system and independently monitored results could operate side by side as additional layers of verification and accountability.

According to the association, the central issue should be whether results eventually announced at collation centres can be traced back to the actual votes counted and recorded at the polling unit.

“The critical question is simple: Can the result eventually announced at the collation centre be traced to the actual votes counted and recorded at the polling unit?” HURIWA asked.

The organisation said that if the answer was yes, any additional mechanism that helped citizens, political parties and observers verify the figures should be regarded as an asset to democracy rather than a threat.

HURIWA said Nigeria had experienced enough controversies surrounding elections to appreciate the danger of situations where citizens were unable to independently reconcile polling-unit results with figures announced at higher levels of collation.

The association therefore welcomed Obi and other stakeholders who might wish to establish similar systems for independently documenting polling-unit results, saying such arrangements could preserve contemporaneous evidence and make it more difficult for figures to be altered without detection.

“HURIWA says such systems could help preserve contemporaneous evidence of polling-unit results and make it more difficult for figures to be altered without detection,”** the statement added.

However, the rights group cautioned political parties and civil society organisations that their monitoring arrangements must remain within the law and must not obstruct electoral officials, intimidate voters or interfere with the collation process.

HURIWA also urged INEC to engage political parties, civil society organisations, accredited observers and technology experts on ways independent result-monitoring systems could complement the official electoral process.

“HURIWA urges INEC to engage political parties, civil society organisations, accredited observers and technology experts on how independent result-monitoring systems can complement the official electoral process,” it stated.

The association called on INEC to publish clear guidelines on the use of technology, result documentation and independent transmission by political parties and accredited stakeholders before the 2027 election.

It also demanded stronger protection and preservation of polling-unit results, saying results declared at polling units should be properly documented and made accessible to authorised stakeholders in a manner that allows subsequent verification.

“The association says technology must be deployed to eliminate uncertainty, not create another layer of secrecy,” HURIWA said.

The rights group further urged political parties, CSOs, professional bodies, religious organisations, election observers and the media to develop lawful voter-transparency initiatives ahead of the poll.

It listed voter education, trained polling-unit agents, photographic documentation of results where legally permissible, secure result archiving and independent monitoring of the collation process among measures that could strengthen public confidence.

HURIWA maintained that such initiatives should not be seen as attempts to undermine INEC, but as additional safeguards for protecting the integrity of the ballot.

The association also called on INEC to embrace constructive scrutiny, arguing that a credible electoral commission should not fear independent verification of the results it receives and declares.

“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,” HURIWA said.

The rights group consequently called on the Federal Government, INEC, political parties and security agencies to create an atmosphere in which independent electoral monitoring is encouraged rather than criminalised, stressing that no Nigerian should be punished or intimidated for demanding that his or her vote be accurately counted and reflected in the final result.

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