The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has clarified a statement attributed to Prof. Joash Amupitan, SAN, the Commission’s Chairman, following reports in some media outlets claiming he confirmed ‘real-time’ transmission of results for the February 21 elections in Federal Captain Territory
A statement e-signed by Adedayo Oketola, Media Adviser and Chief Press Secretary to INEC Chairman, reads: ‘We wish to clarify that the chairman did not use the phrase ‘real-time’ during his interaction with the press. This description misrepresents his technical explanation of the Commission’s processes.’
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What the chairman actually said: Responding to questions on whether INEC was experimenting with technology, Prof. Amupitan reiterated that the Commission had a settled protocol for the electronic transmission of results which had been in use since 2022.”
He stated, “Since 2022, INEC has been transmitting results… We have BVAS, and BVAS is capable of accrediting and also uploading and transmitting the results. So definitely, the results will be transmitted.”
While the Commission remains fully committed to the electronic upload of scanned Polling Unit results (Form EC8A) to the IReV portal, as mandated by the Commission’s regulations and the Electoral Act, this process occurs after the completion of voting, counting, and the manual signing of results by party agents at the polling units.
The use of ‘real-time’ implies a simultaneous or live feed of votes as they are cast, which is not the procedure provided for in the legal framework.
Given the sensitive nature of election technology in our current national discourse, we urge our partners in the media to be meticulous in their reportage. Misquoting the chairman on technical procedures can lead to unnecessary public agitation and misinformation.
INEC remains 100% committed to a transparent, technology-driven election in the FCT and looks forward to your continued professional coverage of the democratic process.
