INEC Releases 2023 Election Report, Says Outcome Reflected Wishes of Nigeria
- Ngeria's electoral umpire, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), released the 2023 general election report
- The report was released a year after the conduct of the election, which was mostly settled in court after a questionable process
- As contained in a statement issued by INEC, they insisted that the 2023 general election was free and fair
Legit.ng journalist Segun Adeyemi has over 9 years of experience covering political events, civil societies, courts, and metro
FCT, Abuja - The 2023 general elections report has been made public by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Sam Olumekun, the National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee, announced this in a statement issued on Friday.
Source: Getty Images
The report's release comes nearly a year following the conclusion of the 2023 general elections.
Several Nigerians were dissatisfied with the delay in uploading the presidential election results to the INEC result viewing portal.
Nevertheless, Olumekun clarified that the election report underwent review and was endorsed for publication during Thursday's commission's weekly meeting.
He emphasised that this publishing process aligns with the commission's longstanding practice across the past four electoral cycles, demonstrating its dedication to transparency.
According to Punch, Olumekun said:
“The comprehensive 526-page document, structured into 13 chapters and enhanced with 60 tables, 14 boxes, and 10 graphs, offered an in-depth analysis of the election’s key processes, achievements, and challenges, along with valuable lessons learned.”
2023 polls were free and fair, INEC maintains
Meanwhile, the commission has maintained that the 2023 poll was free and fair, noting that it reflected the wishes of Nigerians.
The commission stated that upon reviewing the poll, no single party emerged as dominant, and the distribution of results among different parties was more balanced compared to past elections in the country.
However, the commission acknowledged several challenges during the polls, including the currency swap conducted by the Central Bank of Nigeria, attacks on INEC facilities, and some minor technical issues.
Electoral observer slams INEC
Reacting to the report released by INEC, experienced electoral observer and analyst Moshood Isah stated that the explanations given by the commission for its failure to upload the presidential election results as contained in the report were not convincing enough.
In a chat with Legit.ng, the former communication officer of YIAGA Africa said:
"While the commission had come out to admit that it failed to upload Presidential election results in real-time, the explanations given by the commission as contained in the report are not convincing enough.
"Reading through the report, the commission claims it was difficult to mitigate the situation due to its technical nature. This basically means the mock accreditation conducted to identify and resolve issues like this was merely a waste of time and resources."
He expressed that the commission must have recognised a decline in Nigerians' trust in its capability to conduct fair elections following the 2023 elections.
Isah remarked that the commission's actions indicated that Nigerians' expectations were dashed after the elections.
He said INEC should instead take time out to read independent election observation reports and take intentional steps to resolve the identified challenges while taking note of the recommendations.
Isah also stated that there is a need to amend the electoral law further to bridge the gap identified during the elections.
2023 general election: Peter Obi berates INEC's report
Meanwhile, Peter Obi has berated the 2023 general election report released by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
The Labour Party presidential candidate said the release of INEC's report depicted "medicine after death."
Obi also urged elections to be conducted directly at polling stations to avoid confusion and potential tampering.
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Source: Legit.ng
