By Patrick Obia
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has debunked reports the Commission will collate the 2023 general election manually.
National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee, Barrister Festus Okoye in a press release on Sunday said he was misinterpreted in an interview he granted.
INEC noted that collation and transmission of the 2023 general elections will be done electronically as witnessed in the Osun and Ekiti elections, and “there will be no change in all future elections, including the 2023 general election.”
The Commission, however, disclosed that the 2022 Electoral Act has empowered the Commission to collate results manually and they have the discretion to do so.
Festus added: “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 in 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 based on media headlines.”
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