Election Results: “Only INEC Can Determine Mode of Transmission” – Court
Salihu Ali, Abuja.
A Federal High Court in Abuja has affirmed that only the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is permitted by law to determine the mode of collation and transmission of election results.
Justice Emeka Nwite in a judgement on Friday, in a suit filed by the Labour Party (LP) with the INEC as the sole defendant, said only the electoral umpire has the right to order how the Polling Units’ Presiding Officers should transfer election results, including the total number of accredited persons and results of the ballot.
The Labour Party had prayed the court to declare that the INEC has no power to opt for a manual method other than the electronic method provided for by the relevant provisions of the Electoral Act, 2022.
The party urged the court to issue an order directing the INEC to comply with the Electoral Act, 2022 on the electronic transmission of results in the general election.
Justice Nwite in a judgement delivered on January 23, 2023, held that the plaintiff misconstrued the provisions of the law and proceeded to dismiss the suit.
Justice Nwite also noted that Section 60, subsection 5 of the Electoral Act, 2022 provides for the transfer of election results, including the total number of accredited voters from the polling unit, adding that Section 62 (2) of the same Act provides for compilation, maintenance and continuous update of the register of election result as a distinct database for all polling units’ results as collated in all elections conducted by the commission.
Justice Nwite held that the said Section 62(2) has mandated that such register of election results shall be kept in an electronic format by the electoral body at its national headquarters.
