The Concerned Peoples Democratic Party League (CPDPL), has alleged that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is fertilizing the political soil for rigging the 2023 general election through the planned manual collation of results.
INEC National Commissioner and Chairman of its Information and Voter Education Committee, Festus Okoye in an interview with the Punch on Saturday said the collation of results of the 2023 general elections will be done manually despite the adoption of electronic transmission of results.
Okoye was quoted to have said “Section 60(5) of the Act makes it mandatory that the presiding officer shall transfer the results, including a total number of accredited voters and the results of the ballot in a manner prescribed by the commission.
The implication of this is that the collation process of results is still essentially manual, but the collation officer must collate subject to his verification and confirmation that the number of accredited voters stated on the collated result is correct and consistent with the number of accredited voters recorded and transmitted directly from polling units.
Reacting through its director of Media and Advocacy, Comrade Rashidat Abubakar, Sunday alleged that with such a statement ” INEC is fertilizing the political soil for the rigging of the 2023 elections”.
The Concerned PDP League director Media and Advocacy said that “Section 60 is clear. At the close of voting at the polling unit, the voting results will be uploaded, meaning that by the time the officer from the unit goes to the ward, he cannot present a result different from the one that was uploaded, which every voter can have access to it.
According to her, the same thing applies to all levels, because there is evidence that results have been sent to a server where they cannot be manipulated.
She said, ” any attempt to use manual collation will be totally rejected by us and we will mobilize Nigerians too. Is the INEC National Commissioner feigning ignorance of the most important sections of the electoral act like the Electronic Transmission of Result, demanded by Nigerians from their representatives that have given them the sense that, their votes will count?”
She continued “Fortunately, the electronic transmission has been done in Anambra, Ekiti, Edo, and Osun and they were successful, that the procedure has not been challenged.
There must be strict compliance with the provisions of the Electoral Act with respect to electronic upload and transmission of result, without prejudice to what INEC is thinking about bringing”.
She warned that INEC must never try to change the procedure that has worked in these states mentioned. Emphasizing that, the 2023 election must be free and transparent and the will of the people to prevail in Nigeria,” she added.
