The Transition Monitoring Group (TMG) has voiced its discontent with a recent Supreme Court decision regarding the presidential election held on February 25, 2023.

The TMG described the ruling as a “judicial blow” to the use of technology for electoral reform in Nigeria.

The TMG lamented that the judgment, which concerned the use of IReV (Innovations in Electoral Violence), effectively endorsed manual collation of election results, potentially opening the door to result falsification and electoral malpractices.

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Speaking to the media in anticipation of upcoming governorship elections in Kogi, Imo, and Bayelsa, TMG Chairman Auwal Rafsanjani emphasized the importance of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) effectively deploying technology to enhance the credibility of electoral processes.

The TMG also raised concerns about an alleged request made by the Imo State government to reserve all hotel rooms in Owerri between November 4 and 11, ostensibly to accommodate government officials. TMG fears that such a move could obstruct domestic and foreign election observers.

The civil society organization cited a memo titled “Request for reservation of all your hotel rooms from November 4 to November 11, 2023,” purportedly sent by the Commissioner for Tourism, Jerry Egemba, to the Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) of local hotels.

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Rafsanjani contended that this request suggests that the state government is effectively preventing domestic and foreign observers from visiting Imo ahead of the election.

TMG called upon the state government to address these allegations, assure the safety of observers in Owerri, and urged the federal government to investigate the matter and uphold democratic principles.