The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) claims that by fortifying its portal, it has rendered election rigging impossible.
In September, INEC reported that during the just-concluded governorship elections in Ekiti and Osun, hackers from all over the world attacked its result viewing (IReV) platform.
At a seminar on Saturday in Abuja, organized by St. James Anglican Church with the topic “2023 and beyond: leadership, politics, and citizens involvement,” INEC chairman Mahmood Yakubu advised politicians to avoid from attempting to sway the outcome of elections.
Chukwu Ogbuaja, deputy director of voter education, who was the commission chairman’s representative, asserted that INEC has the legal right to look into any altered election results.
“Political parties who participate in rigging will go through the same thing as what was seen in the governorship elections in the states of Edo, Ondo, Anambra, Ekiti, and Osun, he warned.
No election can be rigged, ever. Since INEC has strengthened its website, voters will be able to choose the candidate they choose. If the commission determines that a declaration or return was not made freely or was made in violation of the law, rules, or the election manual, the commission has seven days to analyze the declaration or return. This authority is granted by section 65 of the act.
“The commission will appropriately use its authority in accordance with the terms of the electoral act, the constitution, and its regulations and recommendations.
“The message we at INEC have for all Nigerians is positive. In Nigeria, we have killed and buried rigging. In addition, no voter in Nigeria has the means to cast more than one ballot. Additionally, there won’t be any instances of double voting at any polling place. The INEC will base voting on the BVAS and other technological devices.
The bimodal voter registration system (BVAS), according to the chairman, will make sure that the fingerprints match the registered facials.
He claimed that the procedures are set up so transparently that finger and facial records are stored in the BVAS, and the results are then posted to anyone who logs into the INEC portal from any location in the globe.
The number of votes cast at the polling places must be determined by the number of accredited voters present at the time of voting, not by the number of registered voters. The number of registered voters and the number of accredited voters must match at the polling place. The entire process would be nullified if it went over by one vote, he claimed.
Yakubu further stated that INEC was dedicated to ensuring that the results of the 2023 general election would be remembered as transparent elections.
A civil society organization called YIAGA Africa discovered certain irregularities with the electronic transmission of results during the governorship elections in the Nigerian states of Ekiti and Osun in September.