Off-cycle polls: Ensure electoral officers aren’t pressured to falsify results, IPAC tells INEC

The Inter Party Advisory Council (IPAC) says all hands must be on deck to ensure that electoral officers are not pressured by governors to falsify results during off-cycle elections. 

Yusuf Sani, IPAC chairman, spoke on Tuesday at a meeting of political parties with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

The off-cycle governorship elections are scheduled to take place on November 11 in Bayelsa, Imo and Kogi states.

Sani said INEC deserves commendation for incremental use of technology in its operations which produced some positive outcomes during the 2023 elections.

“The technological innovations introduced especially in the accreditation of voters using the bimodal voter accreditation system (BVAS) was a game changer and highly commendable,” he said.

“We must also commend candidates of political parties who criss-crossed Nigeria’s most difficult terrains under unprecedented insecurity situation and economic hardship, canvassing for votes.”

The IPAC chairman said the council, however, acknowledges that there were challenges during and after the elections.

“The non-transmission of the presidential election results on the IREV platform at the polling units due to technical glitches remains the elephant in the room,” he said.

“Mr. Chairman, as we approach the off season elections in Imo, Bayelsa and Kogi states in November, all hands must be on deck to ensure the resident electoral commissioners and returning officers are not pressured by some governors and INEC itself to falsify results in their states.

“The Adamawa state 2023 governorship election result declaration saga and the embarrassment caused INEC and the nation at large is a case in point.

“The prosecution of the Adamawa REC in court by INEC is highly desirable and commendable.

“Equally desirable is action by all relevant security agencies to check the misuse of state resources in violation of the Electoral Act 2022.”

On the ongoing court petitions on the presidential election, Sani said IPAC hopes the decision of the court will not be based on some perverse public policy rationale, but on reasonable interpretation of substantive and procedural law.