INEC to publish results from polling units online in real-time
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) says it has introduced a dedicated online portal, “INEC Result Viewing (IRV),” that will enable Nigerians to view results from polling units in real-time on election days.
In a statement signed by its spokesperson, Festus Okoye, on Thursday, INEC said the development aims at strengthening the entire electoral process and enhancing the transparency of the system.
INEC said the innovation will be piloted starting from the Nasarawa Central State Constituency bye-election in Nasarawa State scheduled for Saturday. Thereafter, it will be extended to the Edo and Ondo governorship elections as well as all subsequent elections.
The electoral umpire, however, stressed that the innovation does not constitute electronic collation of results.
It added that the collation of results shall remain manual as provided by law – “until completion of relevant result sheets and their upwards collation of the final results are determined.”
The commission had in 2017, inaugurated a 20-member inter-agency committee to assess a possible e-voting system.
The House of Representatives had in 2018 rejected the use of an electronic voting system for the 2019 general elections.
In the wake of the 2019 general elections, President Muhammadu Buhari had also declined assent to the 2018 amended Electoral Act empowering INEC to conduct and transmit election results electronically.
The Deputy Senate President, Ovie Omo-Agege, has also introduced a bill to start the process for a comprehensive amendment of the 2010 Electoral Act.
Read INEC’s full statement
INDEPENDENT NATIONAL ELECTORAL COMMISSION
PRESS RELEASE
INEC INTRODUCES ELECTION RESULT VIEWING PORTAL (IReV Portal)
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) met today 6th August 2020 and approved the introduction of a new step to further strengthen its election management process and enhance the transparency of the system.
The Commission is aware that result management has remained a major source of mistrust in our electoral process. Citizens are often concerned, and sometimes rightly so, that results may not always be consistent with votes cast.
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INEC is determined to address any source of this concern through enhancing the level of transparency in the conduct of elections, more so in the process of releasing results of elections.
It is a fundamental principle of democracy that in elections, votes are not only correctly counted, but that they also count. Consistent with its commitment to transparency in election management, the Commission introduced the Form EC60E, which is a poster version of the primary result sheet, the Form EC8A. This replica of the polling unit result is pasted at the Polling Unit after votes are counted, recorded and announced. This poster, now widely known as the “People’s Form EC8A”, has increased transparency in result management. The form enables the citizens to photograph the results and project the outcome of elections, even before the final results are announced. Unfortunately, this has also led to abuses, as unofficial and at times false results are known to have been circulated, particularly via social media, leading to tension and casting aspersions on the final outcome of elections.
To further strengthen the transparency in the election result management system, the Commission has decided to introduce a dedicated public portal, the INEC RESULT VIEWING (IRV), that will enable Nigerians to view Polling Unit results in real-time as the voting ends on Election Day.
The Commission wishes to emphasize that this does not constitute electronic collation of results. 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.
This innovation will commence from the Nasarawa Central State Constituency bye-election in Nasarawa State scheduled for Saturday 8th August 2020. Thereafter, it will be extended to the Edo and Ondo governorship elections as well as all subsequent elections.
The Commission hopes that this innovation would improve the transparency in election result management and therefore further consolidate public confidence in the electoral process.
For the Nasarawa Central State Constituency election, the Result Sheet can be accessed thus:
1. Visit https://inecelectionresults.com
2. Click on “Create a new account?”
3. Fill in your details in the form provided and click on “Sign in”
4. Provide your State of Origin and click on “Continue”
5. An account activation email is sent to the email address provided in the form
6. Check your email and correctly copy out the activation code which will be entered into the textbox provided on the portal
7. Click on “Activate”
8. This logs you into the portal and you can select the Election whose PU results you are interested in viewing
9. You can use the filter buttons to make the search easier.
10. Please remember to log out of the portal after use.
The Commission appeals to the public to make judicious use of this facility and looks forward to continuing to work with stakeholders to improve the quality of electoral services in our country.
Festus Okoye Esq
National Commissioner and Chairman,
Information and Voter Education Committee.
6th August 2020