The Presidential Election Petitions Court, under the leadership of Justice Haruna Tsammani, stated on Wednesday that the Electoral Act of 2022 does not include any provisions for the electronic transmission of election results.
The five-member panel emphasized that the only mandatory technological device required for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) during the election is the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS).
Regarding the issue of non-compliance with the Electoral Act and INEC Regulations and Guidelines, Justice Tsammani pointed out that there is no indication in the regulations that the BVAS must transmit polling unit results electronically.
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Moreover, the Tribunal provided clarification that the Results Viewing Portal (IReV) utilized by the commission is not intended for collating election results. This interpretation is in accordance with the ruling in the Oyetola Vs INEC case.
“There is no provision for the electronic transmission of election results in the Electoral Act 2022,” says Justice Tsammani. “It is at best optional.”
The Tribunal also determined that the petitioner did not succeed in proving that INEC intentionally delayed the prompt uploading of polling unit results to IReV with the aim of manipulating the results in favor of Tinubu.
“The petitioner made the allegation of non-compliance a substantial part of their case. By the provisions of Section 135(2) of the Electoral Act, they are required to show how such noncompliance substantially affected them.” If they cannot demonstrate this, the petition is unsuccessful.
The court has brought attention to corruption concerns raised by Obi regarding the elections, such as vote suppression, result inflation, and over-voting. However, Justice Tsammani previously removed certain paragraphs related to these claims because of their unclear and general nature.
Ultimately, the court ruled that the petitioners were unable to substantiate their allegations of over-voting and voter suppression.