The Electoral Act 2022, according to the Presidential Election Petitions Court, did not make any provisions for the electronic transmission of election results.
The five-member panel, chaired by Justice Haruna Tsammani, ruled in the petitions challenging Bola Tinubu’s victory in the presidential election of February 25, 2023, saying that only the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) was required to be used by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for the election.
Justice Tsammani continued, “There is nothing in the regulation to show that the BVAS must electronically transmit polling unit results.” This is related to the problem of non-compliance with the Electoral Act and INEC Regulations and Guidelines.
The verdict in the matter of Oyetola v. INEC unequivocally confirms the Tribunal’s conclusion that the Results Viewing Portal (IReV) of the commission is not a collation system.
“There is no provision for the electronic transmission of election results in the Electoral Act 2022,” says Justice Tsammani. “It is at best optional.”