The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has promised that the Kogi State November 11 governorship result will be transmitted electronically directly from polling units to its server.
Recall that INEC gave the same assurance for the February 25 Presidential Election, but failed to electronically transmit the results. Which is part of the reasons Peter Obi of the Labour Party and Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Demcratic Party are challenging the outcome of that election at the tribunal.
The electoral body had claimed there was a glitch, but had not till date said what type of glitch it was.
In any case, the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in Kogi, Prof. Gabriel Longpet, at a two-day media roundtable Engagement on the Kogi election Organized by the Independent Press Center, IPC in Abuja, said on Tuesday that INEC will electronically transmit the Kogi guber elections results.
According to him, the electronic transmission of the results will help to eliminate rigging, electoral fraud and other irregularities and to ensure the enthronement of credibility and transparency in the electoral process.
Longpet further assured that the issues of insecurity that characterised the 2019 governorship election have been critically analysed and dealt with, urging Koginelectorates to come out and vote as the election will be volatile free.
The state REC said, “Of course, we will be transmitting the Kogi election electronically. A lot of infractions do happen between the polling units and the collation centre; the transmission of the results through electronic methods will definitely prevent such issues of infractions from occurring.
“By the electoral acts, any results figures on form EC8A that appeared mutilated cannot be allowed. If results are transmitted electronically to the IREV, there will be no need for results to be hijacked in the first place, mutilated or changed.”
Longpet also said that the 2023 Kogi guber poll “will be by the poll and not by the gun”, promising that the commission will do everything to ensure that votes count and that those who will emerge will emerge through popular votes.
“We have only one message and the message is that you come out to exercise your franchise,” he added.
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