The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has proposed amendments to the Electoral Act 2022 to clarify result management with focus on manual transfer and electronic transmission.
The proposed amendments are to address the ambiguities in the existing Act as it relates to result management, particularly regarding the manual transfer and electronic transmission of election results.
INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, who made this known during a meeting with resident electoral commissioners in Abuja, emphasized that the proposal is part of eight legislative recommendations stemming from the 2023 general elections that require action by the National Assembly.
He added that the commission aims to address ambiguities highlighted during the 2023 general elections to ensure transparency and credibility in future electoral processes.
“One key highlight of the commission’s recommendations is the need for legal clarity in managing election results, particularly between manual transfer and electronic transmission,” Yakubu stated.
The credibility of the 2023 presidential election was questioned by opposition parties due to INEC’s failure to fully utilize the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV) as initially promised.
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INEC had cited a system glitch that hindered the timely uploading of results, forcing a reliance on manual collation. Before the elections, INEC had committed to using the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and IReV to enhance transparency.
However, after the glitches, INEC argued that IReV was meant to improve transparency, rather than serve as the official result collation or result transmission system.
This stance was upheld by the Supreme Court, which ruled that the absence of results on the IReV portal did not constitute legal grounds to annul the February 2023 presidential election. Opposition parties described this decision as akin to changing the rules midway through the game.
A former INEC Chairman, Prof. Attahiru Jega, had also reminded Nigerians of the urgent need to clean up the country’s tainted electoral system.
