TheCable

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) says it has fortified its portal, and making it impossible for elections to be rigged.

INEC had in September said its result viewing (IReV) portal came under attack from hackers across the world during the recently conducted governorship elections in Ekiti and Osun.

Mahmood Yakubu, INEC’s chairman, at a seminar themed ‘2023 and beyond: leadership, politics, and citizens engagement,’ and organised by St. James Anglican Church in Abuja on Saturday said politicians should refrain from attempts to influence the electoral process.

The commission chairman who was represented by Chukwu Ogbuaja, deputy director, voter education, said INEC has the legal authority to investigate any election result that had been manipulated.

“Political parties that engage in rigging will face the same experience witnessed in Edo, Ondo, Anambra, Ekiti and Osun state governorship elections,” he said.

“Nobody can rig any election. INEC has fortified its portal, people will elect the leader they leader want.

“Section 65 of the act gives the commission the power within seven days to review a declaration and return made where the commission determines that the said declaration and return was not made voluntarily or was made contrary to the provisions of the law, regulations and guidelines, and manual for the election.

“The commission will exercise this power responsibly based on the provisions of the constitution, the electoral act and its regulations and guidelines.

“We, in INEC, have a good message for all Nigerians. We have murdered and buried rigging in Nigeria. Apart from that, no voter can afford to vote more than once in any election in Nigeria.

“Also, there will be no case of over voting again in any polling station. Voting will be based on BVAS and other electronic devices by INEC.”

The chairman said the bimodal voter registration system (BVAS) will ensure that the fingerprints tally with the facials recorded.

The processes, he said, are so transparently configured that finger and facial records are contained in the BVAS and thereafter, the results are uploaded to anyone that keys into the INEC portal anywhere in the world.

“At the polling stations, the number of votes must be based on the number of voters accredited at the time of polling and not based on the number of registered voters. The number of accreditation at the polling station must tally with the number of actual voting. If it exceeded by one vote, the entire process would be invalidated,” he said.

Yakubu added that INEC is committed to leaving a legacy of a transparent election with the outcome of the 2023 general election.

In September, YIAGA Africa, a civil society organisation, had found some inconsistencies with the electronic transmission of results during the governorship elections in Ekiti and Osun.