Edo Commissioner Kassim Afegbua tells protesters to save energy, stressing no legislation can be forced on the people regarding e-transmission of results

Edo State Commissioner for Information, Kassim Afegbua, has advised protesters to conserve their energy amid controversy over the electronic transmission of election results.

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Addressing the Electoral Act Amendment Bill, the commissioner insisted that legislation cannot be imposed on a people by force.

“I will advise those who want to protest that they should save their energy. You cannot arm-twist or force a legislation on a people,” Afegbua said.

He further noted that much of the commentary on real-time transmission of election results was impractical given current electoral procedures.

“If you take a holistic view of the entire Electoral Act, there are other provisions of the Act that are not being looked into in discussing the e-transmission of election results,” he added.

Afegbua highlighted the principles of democracy, emphasising the role of the majority and minority in the legislative process.

“The simple law or doctrine of democracy is that majority will have their way, minority will have their say in the Senate; APC members are more in the House,” he said.

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It was stated that the Senate recently rejected a proposed amendment to Clause 60, sub-section 3 of the Electoral Act, which sought to make electronic transmission of results compulsory.