2023: INEC insists on e-transmission of results

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has insisted that the results of the 2023 general elections will be transmitted electronically. One of the key provisions of the Electoral Act 2022 is the deployment of technology in the electoral process. Daily Trust, last week, exclusively reported that INEC’s Chairman, Prof Mahmood Yakubu, said electronic transmission of […]

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has insisted that the results of the 2023 general elections will be transmitted electronically.

One of the key provisions of the Electoral Act 2022 is the deployment of technology in the electoral process.

Daily Trust, last week, exclusively reported that INEC’s Chairman, Prof Mahmood Yakubu, said electronic transmission of elections’ results from polling units would be a permanent feature in the nation’s electoral process.

Yakubu stated this when he hosted a delegation of Media Trust Group (owners of Daily Trust newspapers and Trust TV).

However, a national daily reported an INEC official on Saturday as saying that the collation of the 2023 elections’ results would be done manually.

This generated reactions from stakeholders, especially civil society groups, who condemned the proposed manual transmission of results.

But the electoral body cleared the air yesterday, saying electronic transmission (e-transmission) of results would be deployed for all future elections.

The commission gave the clarification in a statement titled: “Clarification on Electronic Transmission of Election Result”, signed by Mr Festus Okoye, National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee.

He said the commission’s attention had been drawn to a misunderstanding arising from a recent interview granted to a national newspaper on the procedure for results’ management during elections.

Okoye said some people had interpreted the explanation on results’ management procedure to mean that the commission had jettisoned electronic transmission of results and reverted to the manual process.

The statement reads in part: “This is not correct. For clarity, the procedure for result transmission remains the same as in recent governorship elections in Ekiti and Osun. 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.” Okoye further said the entire gamut of result’s management was provided for in Sections 60, 62 and 64 of the Electoral Act 2022.

He noted that in line with the provisions of the law, the commission, in April, 2022, released a detailed clarification of the procedure for transmission, collation and declaration of results which was shared with all stakeholders and uploaded on INEC’s website.

Okoye, therefore, appealed to 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.