INEC to collate elections results manually

Results of the general elections will be collated and
transmitted manually, the Independent National Electoral Commission
(INEC) said yesterday.

This is the only system that the law allows, according to INEC,
which plans not to give the Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs)
in the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) the power
to recruit collation officers.

INEC insists that it has enough courage to conduct free and fair
elections, but it urged Nigerians to prevail on political parties
to comply with the guidelines for the exercise.

The position of INEC was made known by its National Commissioner
and Chairman, Information and Voter Education, Mr. Festus Okoye, at
an interactive session with some media homes in Abuja. Okoye said
INEC was ready for the conduct of the polls in 1, 558
constituencies and 774 Local Government Areas. He said the
commission has concluded the identification and recruitment of over
814, 453 ad hoc staff.

Okoye spent much time to clarify issues surrounding collation of
results. He said: “ For this general election, we are collating
results manually and transmitting manually in accordance with the
existing laws. Even in some advanced countries, some of them
collate and transmit election results manually because in this age
of technology, anything can happen. ” INEC has been consistent in
following the processes and procedures in collating and
transmitting results. If tomorrow the National Assembly changes the
laws, we will adopt e-collation and transmission of results.

“The National Commissioner said INEC will not allow Resident
Electoral Commissioners (RECs)to recruit collation officers.

Okoye added: “ The practice of recruiting collation officers
centrally by INEC headquarters has been in practice since 2011. In
all elections since 2011, including the 195 off-season elections
since 2015, the recruitment of collation officers is centrally done
by INEC headquarters.

“So, since 2011, no REC has been involved in the recruitment of
Collation Officers. We will continue to recruit Collation Officers
from INEC headquarters, we won’t allow RECs to do that.”

The commission met with the Committee of Vice Chancellors and
agreed on the modalities for recruiting and forwarding the names of
Collation Officers to INEC headquarters.

“Responding to a question, the National Commissioner said:
“Collation Officers are not allowed to make phone calls or receive
calls during collation.”

Okoye assured that the commission will be fair to all parties
and candidates.

He said: “INEC has pledged to be neutral and will not pander to
the whims and caprices of anybody or party.

“We have the courage and the stamina to provide an enabling
environment to guarantee free and fair elections. We have the
capacity to conduct elections that all Nigerians will be proud
of.”

Okoye gave details about preparations for the elections. He
added: “ As you are aware, in 12 days, INEC will conduct
Presidential and National Assembly elections and on the 2nd of
March, the commission will conduct Governorship and State Assembly
elections.”

The commission is presently fine-tuning its preparations for the
conduct of the two strands of election and National Commissioners
are just returning from the states that they supervise where they
went to assess the extent and level of preparation for the conduct
of elections.

“It is a matter of common knowledge that the 2019 general
elections will involve 91 registered political parties and a total
registered voting population of 84,004,084. The election will take
place in 1,558 Constituencies and 774 Local Government Areas. The
Collation of Results will take place in 8,809 Registration Areas/
Wards and in 119, 973 Polling Units and 57,023 Voting Points
nationwide.”The Presidential Election will be contested by a total
of 73 candidates while the governorship election will be contested
by a total of 1,068 candidates in 29 states of the Federation. The
109 Senate seats will be contested by 1, 904 candidates while the
360 seats in the House of Representatives will be contested by a
total of 4, 680 candidates. The 991 State Constituency elections
will be contested by a total of 14, 583 candidates. The 68 Area
Council seats in the Federal Capital Territory will be contested by
806 candidates.

The Resident Electoral Commissioner for FCT, Alh. Yahaya Bello,
who was also at the session, asked the media to report only facts
about the coming polls.

He said: “Clearly, media reportage of election can mar or make
it as the people and international observers look up to them for
information. It, therefore, behoves you as media executives to be
responsible and circumspect in your reports and coverage of coming
elections.

“This is not to say that you should not report facts but the
appeal is to shun sensationalism, fake news and deal with the
temptation of declaring the results before the commission does.”
Reports capable of causing confusion or igniting rancour and hatred
should be avoided. The media is one of the critical stakeholders in
the electoral process. So, we seek your continued support in
reporting facts in the elections and educating the electorate on
their rights to vote and be voted for.”