The national discourse on the digitalised electoral process demands critical analysis, as diverse and prominent opinions continue to emerge.
A prominent religious leader wrote to the United Nations and the United States today, urging them to intervene.
As Nigeria continues to digitise its electoral process, few phrases have gained as much political currency as “real-time transmission of election results.”
It is promoted as the solution for transparency and credibility. Yet, nationwide real-time result transmission in Nigeria is more promise than reality.
This is not an argument against technology. It is an argument against pretending infrastructure does not matter.
What “Real-Time” Means — And What Nigeria Actually Delivers
In strict technical terms, real-time transmission implies: Immediate digital capture of results at polling units; instant upload to a central server and simultaneous public visibility without delay.
But what Nigeria currently operates is entirely at odds. Nigeria operates a delayed, conditional, location-dependent digital upload system. And that difference is not semantic. It is structural.
The first structural constraint to real-time transmission of election results is power – electricity. Most polling units lack grid electricity and rely on battery-powered BVAS devices. In public schools, community centres, open fields, or makeshift shelters, they are entirely dependent on battery-powered BVAS devices.
These devices must work for 10–14 hours. Delays, interruptions, or security incidents drain batteries faster. Power banks, if available, help but are not reliable. Devices without power cannot transmit. Technology cannot defy physics.
Connectivity is the bigger, but often ignored, barrier. Even where power exists, network coverage frequently does not.
Across Nigeria, many rural areas rely on unstable 2G or 3G networks. Mobile data coverage is inconsistent, and network congestion spikes on election days. Some areas experience security-related communication disruptions.
INEC admits poor connectivity is the main obstacle to timely uploads. Reports from the 2023 election showed many polling units uploaded results hours or much later after voting ended.
This is not real-time transmission. Its eventual transmission!
How BVAS Actually Works — Step by Step
To understand the limits, one must understand the process itself.
Voter Accreditation
The Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) is an electronic device that verifies a voter’s identity using their Permanent Voter Card (PVC), either via fingerprint or facial recognition.
Voting and Counting
Voting remains manual. Ballots are cast and counted at the polling unit.
Result Recording
Results are entered on Form EC8A. The completed result sheet is photographed using BVAS.
Attempted Transmission
BVAS attempts to upload the image to INEC’s Result Viewing Portal (IReV).
This step requires sufficient battery power, functional mobile data, stable network signal and offline fallback. If the upload fails, the result is stored on the device and uploaded later—sometimes hours later, sometimes after officials move to an area with better network access.
As noted above, BVAS enables digital transmission. It does not guarantee real-time transmission. Infrastructure does.
How Countries with True or Near-Real-Time Systems Operate
Nigeria is not alone in adopting election technology. The difference lies in sequencing.
Estonia
Estonia’s elections have broadband, stable electricity, and secure digital IDs. Over half of voters now cast ballots online. Votes flow directly to central systems quickly, avoiding polling-unit upload constraints.
Brazil
Brazil uses electronic voting machines nationwide. Votes are recorded, results printed, and totals aggregated shortly after polls close. This speed is possible because reliability came before adoption.
India
India’s Electronic Voting Machines run offline, but logistics and collation are well-structured. This ensures rapid, credible aggregation despite India’s size.
Ghana
Ghana’s system benefits from better mobile coverage and fewer power cuts. This allows faster and more consistent uploads than Nigeria can achieve now.
In all these cases, infrastructure preceded ambition.
Nigeria’s Core Contradiction
Nigeria seeks digital credibility, transparency optics, and instant public confidence, but operates amid erratic electricity supply, uneven telecom penetration, and severe rural–urban infrastructure gaps.
This contradiction explains why some results appear online within minutes while others surface hours—or days—later, and suspicion grows in the space created by delay.
The Danger of Overselling Technology
The real risk is not digitisation or even over-promising. Authorities sometimes present real-time transmission as certain. Technical delays then look like manipulation. System failures turn into scandals. Public trust erodes rather than strengthens.
Nigerians should understand that transparency depends on honest capability statements, not marketing slogans.
The Honest Verdict
It is true and technically correct that BVAS represents meaningful progress over purely manual systems. It is also incontestable that digital uploads reduce—but must, however, emphasise that they do not eliminate—human interference.
The truth is, nationwide real-time transmission is not currently achievable. What Nigeria operates today is a hybrid electoral system—digital in intent, analogue in constraint.
Final Thought
You cannot upload what power cannot sustain.
You cannot transmit what networks cannot carry.
And you cannot build electoral trust on technical claims that reality cannot support.
Technology cannot replace infrastructure. It exposes its absence. Until Nigeria confronts this truth directly, real-time transmission will remain a promise constrained by power cuts and signal bars.
