INEC Says It Is Not Mandatory To Collate 2023 Polls Results Electronically
Independent National Electoral Commssion (INEC) has asked the Presidential Poll Petition Tribunal to reject the petition of the Action People Party (APP) challenging the outcome of the 2023 presidential polls.
APP in its petition had accused INEC of breaching the provisions of the electoral act 2022 and its guideline in conducting the poll.
But INEC in its counter-petition, told the tribunal that electronic collation of the results of the poll, was not mandatory, adding that the prescribed mode of collation of the results was manual.
The electoral body also said that its online results viewing platform during the poll, became erratic at the point of collationg the results of the poll, and it had to call on its ICT team to rectify the problem.
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According to INEC, the ICT team took several steps to make the portal to function, and had to create five applications and patches to ensure the immediate uploading of the results of the platform, without success.
INEC through one of its lawyers, Abubakar Mahmoud (SAN), a former President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), insisted that it conducted free and fair polls on February 25.
“The election was free, fair, credible and in compliance with the constitution and the Electoral Act, 2022 and other relevant laws and guidelines,” Mahmoud said.
The APP had alleged that INEC breached its own laws and guidelines.
However, INEC dismissed the party’s argument that results collation were to be done electronically, citing paragraphs 50 to 55 of the regulations and guidelines for the conduct of the 2023 presidential election.
“There was no collation system of the 3rd respondent (INEC) to which polling unit results were required to be transmitted by the presiding officers… the prescribed mode of collation was manual collation of the various forms EC8A, EC8B, EC8C,EC8D and EC8E in the presidential election,” the electoral umpire stated in its defence.”
