Yiaga Africa faults INEC’s guidelines on election result review, seeks inclusive reforms

Yiaga Africa has raised concerns over the recently issued supplementary guidelines by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on the review of election result declarations.

On Thursday, INEC provided supplementary regulations and guidelines for the review of election results, as empowered by Section 65 of the Electoral Act 2022.

In a statement signed by Samson Itodo, its executive director, Yiaga Africa welcomed INEC’s move as “a positive step towards ensuring administrative safeguards for electoral integrity”.

However, the organisation warned that certain provisions in the new guidelines risk undermining the reforms it seeks to enforce.

Yiaga Africa expressed concerns about inclusivity, adding that the guidelines restrict the right to file reports for election result review to only resident electoral commissioners, returning officers, and national commissioners.

The organisation described this as an “exclusionary provision” that effectively shuts out political parties, candidates, accredited observers, and their agents, even when they possess credible evidence of manipulated or unlawful declarations.

“By restricting the activation of the power of review to reports filed by INEC officials, some of whom may be complicit in the very infractions that warrant review, is counterproductive,” the statement reads.

“Evidence from recent elections revealed instances where electoral officers acted in blatant defiance of INEC’s directives, engaged in the manipulation of results, or abdicated their duties, thereby undermining the integrity of electoral process.”

Yiaga Africa, therefore, called on INEC to immediately amend the guidelines to broaden the scope of eligible persons or entities permitted to submit reports that could trigger the review process.

“The scope should include political parties, candidates, accredited party agents, and observers present during collation. This will enhance transparency, promote electoral justice, and affirm INEC’s commitment to credible elections,” the statement reads.