The assurance by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on the electronic transmission of results of the 2023 general elections is quite soothing. It is, indeed, a welcome development that will, to a large extent, restore the confidence of the electorate, candidates and political parties in the ability of INEC to conduct free, fair, credible and acceptable elections in 2023 and even beyond.
INEC National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee, Festus Okoye, said in a statement in Abuja on Sunday that the commission has no plan to jettison the provisions of the Electoral Act 2022 on the electronic transmission of results. Okoye said the clarification was necessitated by a media report, which quoted him as having said next year’s general elections would be collated manually, despite the legislation on electronic transmission of results.
“Electronic transmission of result has come to stay. It adds to the credibility and transparency of the process when citizens follow polling unit-level results on the INEC Result Viewing (IReV) portal in real-time on Election Day. There will be no change or deviation in subsequent elections,” Okoye said. He said his explanation to the medium which reported the story was about manual collation and not transmission, in line with certain provisions of the Electoral Act.
“The Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) attention has been drawn to a misunderstanding arising from a recent short interview granted to a national newspaper on the procedure for result management during elections. Some have interpreted the explanation of the result management procedure to mean that the commission has jettisoned the electronic transmission of results and reverted to the manual process. This is not correct.
“For clarity, the procedure for result transmission remains the same as in recent governorship elections in Ekiti and Osun states. There will be no change in all future elections, including the 2023 general elections.
“We wish to reassure Nigerians that the electronic transmission of results has come to stay. It adds to the credibility and transparency of the process when citizens follow polling unit-level results on the INEC Result Viewing (IReV) portal on real-time on Election Day. There will be no change or deviation in subsequent elections.
“The entire gamut of result management is provided for in Sections 60, 62 and 64 of the Electoral Act 2022. In line with the provision of the law, the commission, in April this year, released a detailed clarification of the procedure for transmission, collation and declaration of result which was shared with all stakeholders and uploaded to our website.
“We appeal to all Nigerians to avail themselves of the provisions of the Electoral Act and the commission’s detailed explanation of the procedure and not reach a conclusion on the basis of media headlines,” he said.
It is noteworthy that the use of technology such as the Biomodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS), INEC Results Viewing (IReV) portals and the electronic transmission of results by the electoral body had accounted for the massive success of the recent off season governorship elections in Ekiti and Osun states. This technological breakthrough stirred appeals by many individuals and groups including the Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD) for INEC to replicate the Ekiti and Osun successes in the 2023 general elections.
CDD, through its Election Analysis Centre, commended INEC and other stakeholders for the success of the Osun poll. In its post-election statement signed by its Director, Idayat Hassan, and the CDD-EAC Chairman, Prof. Adele Jinadu, the group praised all election stakeholders for what it described as a positive performance.
It expressed satisfaction that despite apprehension about the possibility of violent disruption of the election, the process turned out to be peaceful. It said: “As Nigeria marches towards the 2023 general elections therefore, CDD-EAC reiterated its call to INEC and stakeholders to maintain and consolidate their cordial working relationship for the conduct of future elections.
“The collaboration between INEC and other stakeholders, especially civil society organisations (CSOs) and security agents, including anti-graft agencies such as the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and Independent Corrupt Practices and other related Offences Commission (ICPC) also contributed to the successful outcome of the Osun election.
“With the countdown towards the highly anticipated 2023 general elections, all stakeholders must sustain the synergies, which have contributed to the vast improvements recorded in Osun and Ekiti states. At the CDD-EAC, we hope to see the improvements recorded in the recent elections replicated in the conduct of the 2023 general elections.”
The CDD enthused that like the Ekiti state governorship election before it, the Osun State poll witnessed impressive voter enthusiasm. The group commended the political actors for ensuring that the post-election environment remained calm, peaceful and free of any agitations following the declaration of the results by the state collation officer appointed by the INEC.
Subsequently, the CDD called on all contestants to embrace the spirit of true sportsmanship, which entails being graceful in defeat, and exhibiting magnanimity in victory, noting that democracy grows with such virtues.
Considering the vital role of technology in the success of Osun and Ekiti governorship elections, it is inconceivable that INEC will abandon its use in the 2023 general elections, or even subsequent elections. We, therefore, commend the electoral umpire for its assurance of the continuous use of technology, including the electronic transmission of results, in the forthcoming elections.
