The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has backed a proposal by the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, to independently monitor and transmit polling-unit results during the 2027 general elections.
HURIWA said the proposed system could strengthen transparency and public confidence in the electoral process by providing an additional means of verifying results recorded at polling units.
Obi reportedly disclosed the plan during an interview on Arise TV, saying his campaign would establish a system capable of receiving and monitoring results from polling units as they are recorded during the election.
Reacting to the proposal, the national Coordinator of the group, Emmanuel Onwubiko said there was nothing inherently wrong with political parties, civil society organisations and other stakeholders developing independent systems to document electoral proceedings, provided such arrangements complied with the law and did not interfere with the statutory duties of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
The rights group stressed that independent monitoring should not be confused with establishing a parallel electoral commission.
According to HURIWA, INEC remains the constitutionally recognised electoral management body, while political parties, accredited observers and other stakeholders should retain the ability to independently document events at polling units.
The organisation said the official INEC transmission system and independently monitored results could operate alongside each other, providing additional layers of verification and accountability.
HURIWA said the central issue should be whether results announced at collation centres could be traced back to the actual votes counted and recorded at the polling units.
It argued that systems capable of preserving contemporaneous evidence of polling-unit results could make unauthorised alterations easier to detect.
The group, however, cautioned political parties and civil society organisations against allowing independent monitoring arrangements to obstruct electoral officials, intimidate voters or interfere with the collation process.
HURIWA also called on INEC to engage political parties, CSOs, accredited election observers and technology experts on how independent result-monitoring systems could complement the official electoral process.
It urged the commission to issue clear guidelines on the use of technology, result documentation and independent transmission by political parties and other accredited stakeholders ahead of the 2027 elections.
The organisation further called for stronger protection and preservation of polling-unit results to ensure that they remain available for subsequent verification.
HURIWA said Nigerians should not have to wait until the final declaration before being able to determine whether figures announced during collation correspond with results recorded at polling units.
The group urged political parties, CSOs, professional bodies, religious organisations, election observers and the media to develop lawful initiatives aimed at strengthening electoral transparency.
It said such initiatives could 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 maintained that such measures should complement rather than undermine INEC’s responsibilities.
The rights group also called for neutrality by security agencies, impartiality by election observers and protection of voters from intimidation during the election.
It urged the Federal Government, INEC, political parties and security agencies to create an environment where lawful independent electoral monitoring could take place without intimidation or unnecessary restrictions.
HURIWA said the ultimate objective should be to ensure that figures announced during the electoral process could be traced to results recorded at polling units.
The organisation said the 2027 election should provide an opportunity to strengthen mechanisms for independently verifying results and resolving electoral disputes with credible evidence.