Hope rises for e-voting as INEC introduces election result viewing portal

The coast is getting clearer for Nigeria to attain the much-talked-about and much-anticipated electronic voting which many believe would improve the credibility of the country’s electoral process.

This is as the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has introduced a dedicated public portal, the INEC RESULT VIEWING (IReV) that will enable Nigerians to view Polling Unit results real time as the voting ends on election day.

According to the Commission, this move is to further strengthen the transparency in the election result management system which has remained a major source of mistrust in Nigeria’s electoral process.INEC however emphasized that the IReV does not constitute electronic collation of results as the collation of election results shall remain as provided for by law; a manual process of completion of relevant result sheets and their upwards collation until the final results are determined.

Festus Okoye, INEC National Commissioner and Chairman of Information and Voter Education Committee disclosed this in a statement at the end of the Commission’s meeting in Abuja on Thursday.

Okoye said the innovation will commence from the Nasarawa Central State Constituency bye-election in Nasarawa State scheduled for Saturday 8th August 2020, after which it will be extended to the Edo and Ondo Governorship elections as well as all subsequent elections.

He expressed hope that the innovation would improve the transparency in election result management and further consolidate public confidence in the electoral process.

The INEC Chief Spokesman explained that: “For the Nasarawa Central State Constituency election, the Result Sheet can be accessed thus: visit https://inecelectionresults.com, click on “Create new Account?” Fill in your details in the form provided and click on “Sign in”.

“Provide your State of Origin and click on “Continue”. An account activation email is sent to the email address provided in the form. Check your email and correctly copy out the activation code which will be entered into the textbox provided on the portal. Click on “Activate”.

“This logs you into the portal and you can select the Election whose PU results you are interested in viewing. You can use the filter buttons to make the search easier.Please remember to log out of the portal after use”.

Okoye appealed to the public to make judicious use of this facility as the Commission looks forward to continue to work with stakeholders to improve the quality of electoral services in the country.

In another statement at the end of the meeting, INEC warned that political parties and candidates in the forthcoming Edo and Ondo governorhip elections must on no account underestimate the resolve of the Commission to enforce the rules and regulations and apply appropriate sanctions against those who choose to break them.

The Commission expressed deep concern over the escalating levels of violent actions and incendiary statements by political parties, candidates and their supporters in the run up to the Edo and Ondo Governorship Elections.

“Political Parties must realize that Edo and Ondo Governorship elections are taking place at a time of a global pandemic and the Commission is working assiduously to observe and comply with all health and safety protocols issued by the Commission and health authorities.

“With the pandemic taking its toll on the citizenry, the people of Edo and Ondo States must be saved from the added burden of violent and raucous elections. Political Parties must remember that Edo and Ondo Governorship Elections have strict constitutional and statutory timelines and threats of violence or actual violence can disrupt those timelines and create a constitutional crisis.

“The Commission will continue to engage stakeholders in the two States on the need for free, fair, safe and peaceful elections, given that it has committed enormous public resources in preparing for the elections. Therefore, the Commission will view gravely any disruptive actions by political actors.

“Going forward, the Commission will work with and collaborate with the security agencies to contain all incidents or threats of violence before and during the elections. Regulatory agencies with roles in the elections, especially those dealing with insecurity, hate speech and abuse of mass media, must step up their activities and ensure that all those that break the law are held to account”, the statement read in parts.