BREAKING: INEC blames none transmission of results electronically on failure to sign electoral act amendment bill

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has blamed its inability to transmit results electronically to the failure to amend the Electoral Act to accommodate it.

INEC’s National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education, Festus Okoye, said this on Sunday while addressing journalists in Abuja.

Mr. Okoye said the commission would, therefore, collate and transmit results of the elections manually.

He, however, debunked claims that INEC accorded the North undue advantage in the distribution of permanent voters cards (PVCs) by handing them to religious and community leaders for distribution to prospective voters.

Mr. Okoye said the commission would jail anyone found to have been induced in the course of the election.

According to him, INEC was ready to settle every entitlement of those involved in the election and would, therefore, come hard on anyone who would try to undermine the integrity of the electoral process.

“We are ready for electronic transmission any day the law is amended. For now, we are collating and transmitting manually in accordance with the law,” Mr. Okoye said. (Remove bold and underlining after reading)

“Anybody with information that PVCs were handed over to religious leaders or any other person for distribution by INEC in any state should come up with evidence. We will not sweep such infraction under the carpet.

“The commission is prepared to deliver a free, fair and credible election and we will come hard on ad-hoc staff that collects financial inducements from any source in other to compromise the election,” he said.

The National Assembly had passed an Electoral Act Amendment Bill which empowered INEC to adopt electronic transmission of results but President Muhammadu Buhari had withheld assent four times.

The issue, among others, had pitched the leadership of the national legislature and civil society groups against the executive arm of the government.

In the letter obtained to the National Assembly, Mr. Buhari had said that signing the bill into law could “create uncertainty and confusion” during the forthcoming elections.

“Pursuant to section 58 (4) of constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended), I hereby convey to the House of Representatives, my decision on 6th December 201 to decline Presidential Accent to the Electoral (Amendment) Bill, 2018 recently passed by the National Assembly,” he wrote.

“I am declining assent to the Bill principally because I am concerned that passing a new electoral bill this far into the electoral process for the 2019 general election which commenced under the 2015 Electoral Act, could create some uncertainty about the applicable legislation to govern the process.

“Any real or apparent change to the rules this close to the election may provide an opportunity for disruption and confusion in respect of which law governs the electoral process.”

Buhari appealed to the lawmakers to revise some clauses in the bill, expressing optimism that it would take effect after the elections.

“This leads me to believe that it is in the best interest of the country and our democracy for the national assembly to specifically state in the Bill, that the Electoral Act will come into effect and be applicable to elections commencing after the 2019 General Election,” he had said.