The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has restated commitment to uphold the Electoral Act 2022 by ensuring electronic transmission of the 2023 general election results.
INEC gave the clarification on Sunday, in a statement by its National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee, Festus Okoye.
The clarification follows what the commission described as “a misunderstanding arising from a recent short interview granted to a national newspaper on the procedure for result management during elections.”
According to electoral body, “some have interpreted the explanation on result management procedure to mean that the Commission has jettisoned the electronic transmission of result and reverted to the manual process,” adding that “This is not correct.”
Media reports had suggested that the commission plans to adopt manual transmission of the 2023 general election results, prompting condemnation from Nigerians.
INEC, in the statement, however clarified that the procedure for result transmission remains the same as in recent governorship elections in Ekiti and Osun States, adding that there will be no change in all future elections, including the 2023 General Election.
“We wish to reassure Nigerians that the 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 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,” the statement noted.