The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has assured Nigerians that real-time uploading of polling unit results will be implemented for the upcoming off-season governorship polls in Kogi, Bayelsa, and Imo states, scheduled for November 11, 2023. INEC's Acting Director of Voter Education and Publicity, Mary Nkem, confirmed these measures during a discussion on election security on Channels Television's People's Townhall in Abuja.
Nkem mentioned that the issues experienced during the general elections earlier in the year have been resolved. INEC has developed plans to ensure the early deployment of sensitive materials to polling units and the placement of ad hoc officers near the polling units one day before the elections to improve the voting process.
To reduce the distances between local government headquarters and polling units, ad hoc officers are positioned closer to the polling units where they will be working. This strategic move aims to expedite the deployment process. Sensitive materials are expected to be transported from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) vaults to the respective states of Kogi, Bayelsa, and Imo.
INEC conducted a mock accreditation exercise in all three states approximately three weeks ago to assess the functionality of the Biometric Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and the uploading of polling unit results to the Result Viewing Portal (IReV), which was reportedly carried out effectively.
While addressing the challenges with the IReV that arose during the 2023 presidential election, Nkem stated that they had been identified and resolved during a post-election review. She emphasized that the issues with technology had been addressed, and the polling unit results were uploaded to the IReV, even though they were not available in real-time. During the recent mock exercise, all results were successfully uploaded to the IReV within two hours, providing confidence in the system's readiness for the upcoming governorship elections. Nkem encouraged political parties to maintain records of polling unit results for monitoring the collation process.
