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Tag: IREV

  • 2027 Elections: Nigerians seek legal backing for IREV, punishment of electoral offenses

    2027 Elections: Nigerians seek legal backing for IREV, punishment of electoral offenses

    … fault political parties over lack of internal party democracy in political parties

    … decry high rate of failed litigations post 2023 general election

    Ahead of the 2027 general elections, Nigerians have called for deepening technology use by legitimizing the INEC Result Viewing (IREV) portal as part of electoral law and sanctions for electoral offenses.

    Participants during a radio programme, PUBLIC CONSCIENCE, produced by the Progressive Impact Organization for Community Development, PRIMORG, on Wednesday in Abuja, asserted that resolving “technical glitches” that cast doubts on the 2023 elections, ensuring dependence on the election umpires and all stakeholder playing its role would go a long way in improving the conduct of future polls.

    The programme reviewed a recent report titled: “From Ballot to the Courts,” which provides a compendium of cases and analysis of election petitions from Nigeria’s 2023 general elections by the Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre (PLAC).

    PLAC’s Programme Manager on Elections and Civics, Agianpe Onyema, disclosed that amending the Electoral Act of 2022 to recognize IREV is a major way of strengthening the use of technology in conducting elections in Nigeria.

    Onyema urged the entrenchment of punishment for electoral offenders and the adoption of measures to ensure that those who violate the electoral law are punished.

    Speaking on the factors militating against credible elections and election petition litigation post-2023 general polls, she said the weak party system, lack of internal democracy, and litigants’ difficulties proving their case beyond reasonable doubt continue to pose serious challenges, leading to many cases being thrown out of court.

    “Punishment of electoral offenders is very important. PLAC’s report talks about penalizing frivolous petitioners. We won’t get it right in Nigeria if we don’t add that extra mechanism of punishing wrongdoings during elections.

    “The Electoral Act should be amended to make it mandatory to use the IRev portal. The talks about the technical glitch spoilt the whole idea. But I think

    “Nigerians were looking forward to using the IRev portal because it allows for real-time uploads and will even help election petitioners.

    “Political party regulation is a very big issue, and the INEC has said many times that it is not able to regulate parties. For you to strengthen internal party democracy, we actually have to look for an institution that regulates the parties. As we speak, there is a bill in the House of Representatives trying to bring about political party regulation,” Onyema said.

    On her part, PLAC’s Programme Manager on Legislative Issues and Gender, Nkiru Uzodi, joined in alluding that there’s a need to amend the Electoral Act 2022 to clarify issues surrounding result management, particularly the manual transfer and electronic transmission of election results, stressed that every election stakeholder including the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Judiciary, politicians and citizens must play their roles to improve electoral integrity.

    Uzodi also noted that political parties play a massive part in challenges bedeviling the conduct of elections in the country, urging that electoral justice should be substantial with less emphasis on technicalities.

    She expressed worry about the present lack of trust in Nigeria’s judiciary while disclosing that out of the 1503 election petition litigations following the 2023 general elections, 73 percent of the cases were thrown out by the courts due to various shortcomings concerning jurisdiction, burden of proof, and procedural error, among other issues.

    “In getting the conduct of elections right, electoral justice should be substantial; when people go to court, they should get substantial justice and not technical justice, and every stakeholder, including INEC, the judiciary, political parties, politicians, and citizens, have a role to play to fix this problem.

    “We did a perception survey before the 2023 elections, and the citizen’s opinion of the judiciary was kind of average, but after the elections, it tanked. It’s below average. A lot of people have negative perceptions of the judiciary.”

    Regarding the outcome of PLAC’s report, Uzodi revealed, “We analyzed 1503 cases, and about 792 were tribunal cases. 73% of those cases failed for lack of burden of proof. So there are two major issues: burden of proof and jurisdiction.”

    In recommendations, she said, “The doctrine of substantiality, which is in section 135 of the Electoral Act, needs to be reviewed; the whole idea of criminal burden of proof in election petitions is ill-suited for election petitions.”

    A human rights activist and public affairs analyst, Gerald O. Katchy, emphasized the importance of using technology completely in the conduct of all future elections in the country and stressed that INEC, being truly independent of political influence and pressure, will better serve the generality of Nigerians.

    Katchy called on the authorities to consider the consequences of electoral crimes and advocated for special courts to handle election cases.

    “We must ensure the INEC is independent. We should not allow politicians or political parties to nominate Electoral Commissioners. That is where it starts.

    “When it comes to issues of elections, we must create an agency or commission that manages elections, it is just like monitoring political parties. Then we should encourage INEC to go full electronic,” Katchy emphasized.

    Public Conscience is a syndicated weekly anti-corruption radio program, PRIMORG, that draws the government’s and citizens’ attention to corruption and integrity issues in Nigeria.

    The program runs in partnership with the MacArthur Foundation.

  • BVAS, IReV not electoral scam – INEC

    BVAS, IReV not electoral scam – INEC

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) reaffirms its Bi-Modal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IREV) are not scams.

    INEC’s Director of Information and Communication Technology (ICT), Dr Lawrence Bayode, made this clarification during a conversation organised by the commission on X (formerly Twitter) on Saturday in Abuja.

    In his presentation, titled “BVAS and IREV: Facts and Myths,” Bayode said both BVAS and IREV were technological innovations aimed at enhancing Nigeria’s electoral process.

    He emphasised that INEC had taken bold steps and made concerted efforts to improve the credibility, transparency, and accuracy of elections through technology.

    Bayode described BVAS and IREV as key components of Nigeria’s election process, noting that various misconceptions had created doubts about their functions.

    “There is a belief that BVAS and IREV are scams.

    “This misconception arises from misunderstandings, technical issues, and general distrust in the electoral process. However, this belief is incorrect,” he said.

    “BVAS verifies voters using fingerprint and facial recognition, ensuring that only accredited voters cast their ballots.

    “IREV is an online portal that allows the public to view scanned polling unit results for transparency. It does not count votes or collate results.”

    He dismissed the notion that technical failures, such as slow uploads, server downtimes, or network issues, equated to fraud.

    “These challenges do not mean the system was designed to deceive voters. Rather, they highlight areas that need improvement in election management,” he explained.

    Bayode further debunked the myth that BVAS transmitted election results, stressing that its primary role was voter accreditation and authentication.

    “BVAS does not directly transmit election results. Instead, results are recorded on Form EC8A, which is then uploaded to IREV,” he stated.

    “BVAS is used at polling units for voter accreditation. IREV is an online platform where scanned polling unit results are uploaded for public viewing.”

    “BVAS significantly reduces voter impersonation and over-voting, other electoral malpractices, such as violence and vote-buying, can still occur,” he noted.

    He also dispelled the myth that voting could not continue if BVAS failed, explaining that INEC provided backup devices, and in rare cases, elections in affected polling units might be rescheduled.

    Bayode highlighted BVAS’ role in reducing electoral fraud, stating that voter impersonation and multiple voting had been significantly curbed since its introduction.

    “IREV has also enhanced transparency by allowing citizens to verify polling unit results in real time.

    “Before IREV, election results were not easily accessible to the public. Now, discrepancies can be identified, which proves the system enhances transparency rather than being a scam,” he said.

    INEC’s Director of Voter Education and Publicity (VEP), Victoria Eta-Messi, added that the commission was collaborating with the National Assembly and stakeholders to amend the Electoral Act, particularly on election results management.

    She also reiterated INEC’s commitment to voter education to build public trust, reduce voter apathy, and promote credible elections.

  • Edo State election: 98.27% results uploaded to INEC IReV

    Edo State election: 98.27% results uploaded to INEC IReV

    Presiding officers from Polling Units (PUs) in the 2024 governorship election in Edo State have uploaded 98.27% of result sheets to the results viewing (IReV) portal of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) so far.

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports the electoral officers commenced uploading of Polling Unit (PU) level results to the IReV portal at the close of the polls on Saturday with voting time extended in areas where the process started late.

    As at 6:24:07 am today, a total of 4,441 out of 4,519 election result sheets from across the 18 local government areas of the State have been submitted to the IReV. At the time of filing this report, results upload for Owan East, Esan South East, Esan North East and Igueben local government areas had been completed.

    The complete results are expected to be uploaded to the portal via the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) soon.

  • BREAKING: Edo election result of over-voting uploaded to INEC IReV

    BREAKING: Edo election result of over-voting uploaded to INEC IReV

    A presiding officer identified as Josephine Obozuwa has uploaded a result of over-voting in the Edo State Governorship Election to the results viewing (IReV) portal of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

    Checks by TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reveals that the result for the polling unit at Osholo Primary School, Osholo in Etsako East local government area of the State was uploaded by Obozuwa at about 4:06:09 pm on Saturday.

    The Osholo Primary School, Osholo polling unit is located in Weppa Ward in Etsako East and has the polling unit code of 12/08/04/009.

    The result sheet for the polling unit uploaded to the INEC IReV shows that 493 persons registered to vote at the polling unit. However, only 213 persons were accredited to vote.

    Further checks revealed that Obozuwa assigned 352 votes to the All Progressives Congress (APC), 52 votes to the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and one vote each to the Labour Party and the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA).

    Total number of valid votes at the polling unit, therefore, amounted to 406 votes. With a total of 213 accredited voters at the polling unit, this is a clear case of over-voting.

    See attached result sheet uploaded to the INEC IReV below:

    BREAKING: Edo election result of over-voting uploaded to INEC IReV

    Meanwhile, at the time of filing this report, over 93% of polling unit results have been uploaded to the IReV portal as at 8:26 pm. A total of 4,239 out of 4,519 results have been submitted to the portal.

    Over-voting: PDP reacts

    Meanwhile, the PDP has reacted over the obvious over-voting case at the Osholo Primary School, Osholo polling unit.

    In a statement signed by Debo Ologunagba, National Publicity Secretary of the party, the PDP demanded the prosecution of Obozuwa.

    The statement reads: “The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) demands the immediate arrest and prosecution of an APC-compromised INEC Presiding Officer (PO) in the Edo State Governorship election, Obozuwa Josephine, for brazenly allocating non-existent votes to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

    “The election result sheet for Osholo Primary School Polling Unit, Weppa in Etsako East Local Government Area shows that whereas 213 voters were accredited, Obozuwa Josephine criminally and fraudulently allocated 352 votes to the APC, 52 to the PDP and one to the LP, giving a total of 406 as votes cast.

    “It is highly provocative that the INEC PO Obozuwa Josephine could be so compromised by the APC to audaciously and feloniously allocate unearned 352 votes to the APC above the 213 voters officially accredited in that Polling Unit.

    “This reckless act by Obozuwa Josephine is reminiscent of the criminal conduct of the former Adamawa State Resident Electoral Commissioner, Mallam Hudu Ari, during the 2023 Governorship election in that State, which provoked violent protest by the people and nearly led to the loss of lives of INEC officials.

    “Obozuwa Josephine should take note that this criminal action by her could provoke similar consequences.

    “Our Party holds that Obozuwa Josephine’s action is one of the many cases of electoral fraud, ballot manipulation, betrayal of public trust and crime against the State perpetrated in this election by the APC and unscrupulous INEC officials which must not go unpunished.

    “Nigerians can recall that the PDP had on several occasions alerted that the APC had compromised the INEC system by planting APC members as Polling Officers to manipulate the electoral process and alter results in favour of the APC.

    “The PDP demands that INEC effects the immediate arrest and prosecution of the indicted Presiding Officer Obozuwa Josephine, cancel the election in Osholo Primary School Polling Unit and take steps to address other such infractions in this election.

    “Our Party again commends the people of Edo State for their vigilance and urges them to remain resilient till the end”.

  • Edo poll: INEC uploads 90.33% of results on IREV

    Edo poll: INEC uploads 90.33% of results on IREV

    The Independent National Electoral Commission has uploaded 90.33 percent of the results from the Edo governorship election to its Result Viewing Portal.

    Results from 4,082 out of the 4,519 polling units where elections were held in the state have been successfully transmitted.

    Earlier today, the Resident Electoral Commissioner for Edo, Anugbum Onuoha, reassured the public during an interview on Arise Television that electronic transmission of results would proceed smoothly, barring any network disruptions.

    “We have trained the operators for the BVAS. They are set. BVAS is to accredit the voters and to know the total number of voters that will vote at that level and that polling unit.

    “After that, the voters will start voting. At the end of the day, they will count the results, and it will be uploaded to our IReV,” he assured.

    With more than 2.2 million permanent voter cards collected, candidates from various parties, including Senator Monday Okpebholo of the All Progressives Congress, Asue Ighodalo of the Peoples Democratic Party, and Olumide Akpata of the Labour Party, are competing for the governorship position.

    The winner will succeed Governor Godwin Obaseki, who will leave Osadebe House on November 11 after completing two terms in office.

  • Edo Decides 2024: Over 70% of results uploaded to IReV

    Edo Decides 2024: Over 70% of results uploaded to IReV

    As of 4:52 pm, a total of 70.26% of the results from the Edo State Governorship Election have been uploaded to the election Results Viewing (IReV) portal of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports the 70.26% constitutes results from 3,175 polling unit of the total 4,519 polling units in Edo State that have been submitted to IReV portal so far.

    INEC electoral officers had been uploading Polling Unit (PU) level results to the dedicated INEC Results Viewing (IReV) portal for the ongoing governorship election in Edo.

    Voting was expected to conclude after the last person in the queue cast their vote by 2:30 p.m. However, INEC announced an extension of voting time in areas where the process started late, with the closing time to be determined by individual polling units in the affected areas.

    Additional results will be uploaded to the portal via the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) as soon as voting and results counting are completed at all polling units statewide.

    Edo Election: Obaseki lauds voters’ enthusiasm, security

    Meanwhile, Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo has commended the zeal of voters in the state who trooped out en masse  to cast their votes in the governorship election in spite of the heavy rain.

    Speaking to journalists after casting his votes at about 11:57 a.m. at Oredo Ward 4, unit 19, Emokpae Primary School, Obaseki also commended the presence of security agencies.

    He said “You can see that in spite of the weather, the turnout and enthusiasm of the electorate is high. The ballot box in my polling unit is full and it clearly shows that people have been interested in this election as they have been adequately mobilised.

    “People are very interested in this election because it’s a watershed for us in Edo. I am not surprised because a lot of young people are here to express themselves and fulfill their civic obligation.

    “For now, I am glad with what I see and the election process in my unit has been smooth and efficient. I hope that the collation process will be the same and also peaceful; I hope that the results counting will not be disrupted. I am glad with the presence of the military in the state, and the federal security have taken over the state.

    Speaking about some arrests made by the military, the governor commended the military, saying that the Chief of Defence Staff Gen. Christopher Musa was living up to his words.

    “The military has done a good job and has done well. The Chief of Defence Staff came to see me and assured me that his men were fully on ground.

    “And I am glad with what they are doing but not too sure of what the police are doing at this time. As I speak, I hear that there are some people who claimed that they are policemen at Ogbe polling field trying to arrest people on election day at their polling units.

    “We are glad at the deployment of our agents and our situation room is open and we are receiving reports all over and hope for the best,” Obaseki added.

  • Credibility of election not dependent on uploading results – INEC

    Credibility of election not dependent on uploading results – INEC

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has reiterated its position that the electoral laws in Nigeria do not say that the credibility of an election depends on the upload of results sheet to the INEC Result Viewing (IReV) portal.

    The Chief Press Secretary to INEC Chairman, Mr Rotimi Oyekanmi, maintained this position in Abuja on Friday while presenting a paper titled: “Role of Media and INEC Social Media Platforms in Democratic Elections”.

    Oyekanmi in his presentation advised Nigerians to understand INEC and the election result management process, especially how the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and INEC Result Viewing (IReV) portal work.

    He recalled how some INEC members of staff were detained and beaten during the 2023 general elections because BVAS could not transmit election results to IREV due to network challenges.

    “The truth of the matter is that our laws do not say that the credibility of an election depends on the upload of results sheet to that portal.

    “The fact is that network issues can happen because the entire country is not covered 100 per cent. So, if you don’t have network in a particular area, INEC has made provision for offline upload of results.

    “So, even if the presiding officer sends and it doesn’t go, it goes offline. When he moves from that polling unit, before it gets to the collation centre, anywhere the network hits that device, it will send it.

    “But many Nigerians do not know. Today, the inability of the BVAS to upload is akin to breaking the election,” he said.

    Oyekanmi said journalists covering elections should be responsible for the promotion of credible elections and fostering the nation’s peace and unity by adhering to the code of conduct guiding elections reportage.

    He advised journalists to be sensitive to the implications of their reports on elections. According to him, when journalists fail to be sensitive to the implications of their reports, it could cause a breach of peace.

    “This will put the lives of their colleagues, electoral officers, and other citizens in danger. We need peace and stability for the election to take place at the time that we want it to take place. We also need peace and stability for us to collate the results and announce the overall results.

    “The media also has the responsibility to counter misinformation and fake news. This is very important. There are so many organisations now, thankfully, into fact-checking. I think, as journalists, we also have the responsibility of devising our means of fact-checking what people say to us,” Oyekanmi said.

    He urged journalists to equip themselves with the Electoral Act 2022, the INEC Regulations and Guidelines, as well as the aspects of the 1999 Constitution relating to INEC and elections. Oyekanmi advised Nigerians and the media to follow the commission on its various social media platforms to access quality service.

    “INEC will continue to take advantage of social media platforms to proactively disseminate information about electoral activities, plans, and policies. The commission will use the platforms to engage more with stakeholders and citizens moving forward. The fight against fake news, misinformation, and disinformation will be intensified,” he said.

    Meanwhile, Mr Sam Olumekun, INEC National Commission and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee (IVEC), urged the media and the public to verify information related to the Edo governorship election directly with the commission before publishing the same.

    According to Olumekun, represented by the Director of Voter Education, Mrs Mary Nkem, the doors of the commission are open for enquiries amidst other multiple channels to secure accurate information.

    Olumekun says fake and misleading news, made easy by the advent of the digital age, poses so many dangers, especially during an election period.

    “Such information has the potential to disrupt the electoral process, undermine public confidence, and incite unnecessary tensions. The commission has taken proactive steps to combat this menace, part of which is to be open and transparent in all its dealings.

    “We have made it a culture to constantly update the public through you after every commission’s meeting when decisions are taken. We will intensify the information flow as we move closer to the Edo governorship election.

    “Measures have been put in place to minimise the circulation of false information. However, we cannot do this alone. We believe that you will remain a bulwark against fake and misleading information about the commission and the electoral process,” he said.

    Concerning media accreditation for the election, Olumekun said 122 organisations had applied for a total of 892 personnel.

  • Off-cycle election: Why INEC suspended collation of results in Bayelsa

    Off-cycle election: Why INEC suspended collation of results in Bayelsa

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) will resume the collation of results in the Bayelsa Saturday’s election at 10 am today.

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports INEC had suspended the collation process in Bayelsa with the reason that only results from one local government area had arrived as of yesterday night.

    According to Prof Farouk Kuta, the State’s returning officer, the exercise will resume by 10 am Sunday morning.

    A presiding officer (PO) of a polling unit (PU) in Yenagoa LGA, Bayelsa had said he and some other staff members of the INEC were assaulted during the election held on Saturday.

    Meanwhile, as of the time of filing this report, 88.37% of results have been uploaded to the INEC results viewing portal.

    While results from 2242 polling units are being awaited, results from 1983 polling units have been submitted to the INEC results viewing portal.

  • Governorship election: Results upload to IREV exceeds 50% for Bayelsa, Imo, Kogi

    Governorship election: Results upload to IREV exceeds 50% for Bayelsa, Imo, Kogi

    Upload of results from polling units for Saturday’s governorship elections in Bayelsa, Kogi and Imo States to the results viewing portal of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is in progress.

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports the governorship election results for the three States uploaded to the IREV have exceeded 50% as of the time of filing this report.

    The governorship election results submitted to INEC IREV portal so far are 70.98% for Imo, 72.73% for Bayelsa and 65.14% Kogi.

    Results from 3,377 out of 4,720 polling units have been submitted on IReV for Imo, results from 2,285 out of 3,508 polling units have been submitted on IReV for Kogi and results from 1,644 out of 2,242 polling units have been submitted on IReV for Bayelsa.

  • BREAKING: IREV is not collation system – Supreme Court rules

    BREAKING: IREV is not collation system – Supreme Court rules

    The Supreme Court of Nigeria has held that the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IREV) deployed by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for the 2023 General Election is not a collation system.

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports Justice Inyang Okoro of the Supreme Court said this on Thursday in final verdict on the outcome of the 2023 presidential election.

    Justice Okoro ruled that failure to transmit election results electronically on IREV did not affect the election results.

    “The court below held that the IREV is not a collation system, and I agree. The unavailability of the INEC results on the portal cannot be a ground for the election to be nullified.

    “It is my well considered opinion that the failure to transmit results to the IREV, did not affect the result of the election.

    “The IREV portal is not a collation system. Where the IREV portal fails, it does not stop the collation of results. This issue is resolved in favour of the respondents,” Justice Okoro said.

     

    Details shortly…