The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has reiterated its authority to review election results declared under duress.
This came in a statement released on Sunday morning by Mohammed Haruna, the National Commissioner & Member of the Information and Voter Education Committee.
Following the upload of election results on INEC’s Result Viewing (IReV) portal, various political parties began claiming victory.
However, INEC stressed that it will not hesitate to invoke its power to review results where coercion or manipulation is suspected.
“Following the conclusion of voting yesterday, the Commission activated the INEC Result Viewing (IReV) portal and uploaded the Polling Unit results in earnest. The same results have also been collated from all the 192 Wards. Similarly, collation has been concluded in most of the Local Government Areas and the designated officials are already at the collation centre in Benin City or on their way. We are set to commence State-level collation,” Haruna stated.
The commission noted that collation will follow the provisions of the Electoral Act 2022, including its regulations and guidelines, and mentioned the mechanism for addressing complaints during the process.
“There is a mechanism for redressing complaints during collation, including the power to review results declared under duress. The Commission will not hesitate to invoke such powers where necessary,” he further added.
INEC also called on security agencies to maintain the same professionalism that ensured a peaceful voting process, as collation continues at the state level.
The commission urged for accredited party agents, observers, and the media to be granted full access to all collation centres.
