2023: APC joins arguments over e-transmission of results

The outrage generated by the opposition over the Bola Tinubu’s victory in the recent elections has elicited another reaction from the All Progressives Congress (APC).

The Presidential Campaign Council (PCC) of the APC has argued that the Independent National Electoral Commission is not bound by law to transmit results electronically.

Dele Alake, Special Adviser on Media and Communications at the PCC made the declaration in Abuja on Friday when he spoke at a news conference.

According to Alake, INEC has the option to decide whether to broadcast election results.

He also claimed that there was no requirement regarding the transmission of results in the Election Act of 2022.

“The complaint over electronic transmission of election results is not supported by law.

“Section 38 of the Electoral Act 2022 relied upon by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Labour Party (LP) to challenge the result of the Feb. 25 presidential election has nothing to do with transmission of election results.

“Section 60, sub-section 2 of the Act deals with transmission of results and it is at the discretion of INEC. The Act does not contain any mandatory provision regarding the transmission of results.

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“In any case, the process of transmitting results from polling units, whether real-time, two days later or at any time, cannot in anyway change the results that have been announced,’’ Alake stressed.

The counting of votes in front of party officials and in front of the voters, he continued, was crucial.

Alake argued that it was ludicrous to suggest that a difference in results uploading times would affect the data.

The electoral commission, INEC, declared Bola Tinubu, the candidate of Nigeria’s ruling party, APC, as the winner of Saturday’s presidential election.

Tinubu defeated 17 other candidates who took part in the election. He scored a total of 8,794,726 votes, the highest of all the candidates, thus meeting the first constitutional requirement to be declared the winner.

He also scored over 25 per cent of the votes cast in 30 states, more than the 24 states constitutionally required.

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