The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, says it may not be able to achieve a 100 percent perfect election for now. Chairman of the Commission, Prof Joash Amupitan, said this on Sunday during the Citizens’ Town Hall meeting on the Electoral Act held in Abuja.
He also said he does not see the transmission issue as a problem. According to him, the problem is not the network but the adequacy of Nigeria’s networks. “Let me just appeal to Nigerians because I have noticed now that what Nigerians desire is a perfect election.
“INEC will strive as much as possible to give this country the best election; however, we may not be able to achieve a 100 percent perfect election for now,” he said.
Amupitan appealed to Nigerians to manage expectations, saying the commission would strive for excellence but could not promise perfection. “Let me just appeal to Nigerians, because I have noticed now that what Nigerians desire is a perfect election. And INEC will strive as much as possible to give this country the best election.
“However, we may not be able to achieve a 100 percent perfect election for now. But as far as electronic transmission of results is concerned, I said it before the FCT Area Council that we have the capacity to transmit the results, and that we’re going to transmit the results. The only concern was real-time,” he stated.
Amupitan noted that INEC was actively involved in the process that produced the Electoral Act 2026, which he said began about three years ago through a joint committee comprising members of the National Assembly, civil society organisations, and the commission.
“As of the time I was taking over, the work was almost concluded. Nonetheless, we still made some important provisions and recommendations in the new acts,” he said.
On the contentious issue of electronic transmission of results — a subject that dominated debates after the 2023 general elections — Amupitan disclosed that the commission pushed for mandatory transmission during legislative deliberations.
“Now, even talking about the transmission of the results, you will notice that the original provision that came out of the retreat from the National Assembly was not exactly what you have today.