2023 elections and needless confusion over manual results collation, By Moshood Isah

…the outcry on the problem of guide collation might be because of the poor information of Nigeria’s electoral framework or insecurity within the electoral fee and the repute it had spent the final decade rebuilding. It’s certainly worrisome that regardless of the citizens-driven marketing campaign on electoral reform and marked enchancment within the transparency of our elections, there stays a belief deficit between Nigerians and the Unbiased Nationwide Electoral Fee (INEC).

Just lately, a conventional information platform revealed a narrative saying that the Unbiased Nationwide Electoral Fee (INEC) will collate the 2023 election outcomes manually and this surprisingly generated a variety of criticisms and even allegations of potential rigging of the February 2023 polls. The sudden uproar and contrasting suggestions look legitimate at first look, contemplating the truth that a brand new electoral legislation that legalises (however not mandates) the deployment of electoral expertise got here into pressure six months in the past. Nevertheless, a more in-depth take a look at the legislation guiding the method and the administration of the current Ekiti and Osun governorship elections exhibits that guide collation of election outcomes doesn’t scale back transparency or expose the method to undue manipulation.

Within the interview, Nationwide Commissioner Festus Okoye supported his assertion with “Part 60(5) of the electoral act 2022 which makes it necessary that the presiding officer shall switch the outcomes, together with the full variety of accredited voters and the outcomes of the poll in a way prescribed by the fee. This implies the presiding officer shall after recording and saying the outcomes ship the identical together with election supplies below safety and accompanied by the candidates or their polling brokers, the place out there to such individual as could also be prescribed by the fee.”

The implication of this, in accordance with him, is that the collation technique of outcomes continues to be primarily guide, however the collation officer should collate topic to his verification and affirmation that the variety of accredited voters acknowledged on the collated outcomes are appropriate and in line with the variety of accredited voters recorded and transmitted instantly from the polling models. Mr Okoye even went forward to clarify that whereas the collation of outcomes would primarily be carried out manually, the place there was a dispute concerning a collated end result or the end result from any polling unit, the collation or returning officer would use the unique of the disputed collated end result, accreditation information from the BVAS machine and the outcomes transmitted instantly from the polling unit, to find out the correctness of the end result.

The additional explanations contained in the story couldn’t cease the inherent mistrust garnered by the Fee through the years, that it needed to comply with up with an official press assertion to make clear its stand on outcomes collation and the digital transmission of election outcomes. It’s crucial so as to add that election outcomes are collated publicly utilizing verified figures already transmitted electronically and uploaded through the INEC Consequence Viewing (IRev) portal. The paper copies of the outcomes type EC8A are accomplished by the presiding officer, verified and signed by the social gathering brokers, earlier than the outcomes are uploaded on the net outcomes viewing platform.

… INEC should use this incident as a chance to enhance its communication with the general public, particularly on its processes and process, to forestall recurrence of those types of misinterpretations. Additionally, not simply the Fee however civil society organisations and political events should make investments time and sources in educating eligible voters and certainly the typical Nigerian on the legislation guiding the electoral course of to allow voters take part from an knowledgeable perspective.

The election end result viewing portal was first piloted within the Nasarawa State Constituency bye-election in August 2020 after which in statewide governorship elections within the months of September and October in 2020, earlier than it was legalised by the electoral legislation earlier than the Ekiti and Osun 2022 polls. The innovation has little doubt improved the transparency of the electoral course of, with residents’ entry to untainted election outcomes from polling models. As a matter of reality, the foremost election observer group, Yiaga Africa, piloted its Election Outcomes Evaluation Dashboard (ERAD) within the Ekiti and Osun polls, the place it projected and analysed election outcomes as uploaded on the INEC outcomes viewing portal from the polling models.

Whereas this innovation is essential, the Fee has a chance to additional enhance the method by guaranteeing outcomes from each stage of collation are additionally transmitted electronically and uploaded on the portal for residents’ entry. This mainly implies that whereas outcomes on type EC8A are additionally uploaded from the polling unit stage, there may be have to bear the identical course of for the outcomes collated on the native authorities and state ranges (within the case of presidential election). This may allow residents to manually collate uploaded outcomes even earlier than the ultimate collation course of for the presidential election in Abuja.

Thus, the outcry on the problem of guide collation might be because of the poor information of Nigeria’s electoral framework or insecurity within the electoral fee and the repute it had spent the final decade rebuilding. It’s certainly worrisome that regardless of the citizens-driven marketing campaign on electoral reform and marked enchancment within the transparency of our elections, there stays a belief deficit between Nigerians and the Unbiased Nationwide Electoral Fee (INEC).

Nigeria is heading into an important interval of campaigns forward of the 2023 common elections, throughout which each and every tiny remark and knowledge may very well be misinterpreted into manipulating electoral fortunes. That is the interval the place political events and their supporters are able to forged aspersions on each motion that appears to not favour their aspirations. On this vein, INEC should use this incident as a chance to enhance its communication with the general public, particularly on its processes and process, to forestall recurrence of those types of misinterpretations. Additionally, not simply the Fee however civil society organisations and political events should make investments time and sources in educating eligible voters and certainly the typical Nigerian on the legislation guiding the electoral course of to allow voters take part from an knowledgeable perspective.

Moshood Isah is a communication professional, an election observer and a very good governance advocate. Moshood can also be a method workforce member of the NotTooYoungToRun motion and the media officer of Yiaga Africa.