Tribunal Rules: INEC Cannot Be Compelled To E-Transmit Election Results

The Presidential Election Petitions Court has ruled that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is not obligated to electronically transmit election results.

In a judgment issued on Wednesday, September 6, the five-member panel of the Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC), led by Justice Haruna Tsammani, determined that INEC had the discretion to determine how election results were transmitted during the presidential election held on February 25, 2023.

According to the tribunal, sections 52 and 65 of the Electoral Act 2022 grant INEC the authority to establish the method for transmitting election results during the polling process.

Consequently, the tribunal rejected the petition filed by the Labour Party (LP) and its presidential candidate, Peter Obi, which contended that President Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) should have his victory annulled due to the alleged “failure” of the commission’s Results Viewing Portal (IReV) to instantly upload election results electronically.