Yiaga Africa has called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to adopt additional transparency measures in the electronic transmission and collation of election results ahead of the 2026 Osun State governorship election and the 2027 general elections.
The organization, through its Executive Director, Samson Itodo, made the call on Wednesday during the unveiling of a policy brief titled “Securing the Vote through Electronic Transmission and Collation of Election Results.”
The brief examined the results management framework established under the Electoral Act 2026 and the INEC Regulations and Guidelines for the Conduct of Elections, 2026.
Itodo acknowledged that the Electoral Act 2026 makes the electronic transmission of polling unit results to the INEC Result Viewing (IReV) portal mandatory, transforming the platform from a public viewing portal into an official legal record for election results.
However, he noted that despite these reforms, significant aspects of the results management process remain hidden from public scrutiny.
According to Itodo, results transmitted from polling units undergo an internal backend validation process before appearing on the IReV portal—a procedure the electoral commission has yet to publicly explain.
The organization also observed that while polling unit results (Form EC8A) are uploaded to the portal, ward (Form EC8B) and local government (Form EC8C) collation results are not published. This makes it difficult for citizens and stakeholders to independently verify the collation process.
Furthermore, Itodo expressed concern over the existence of three distinct versions of election results—the physical result sheet, the scanned image uploaded to the IReV portal, and the electronically transmitted record—without a clearly defined legal hierarchy in the event of discrepancies.
To rebuild public confidence in the electoral process, Itodo urged INEC to publish a detailed protocol explaining the journey of election results from polling units to the IReV portal, including the purpose and duration of the backend validation process.
He also recommended that the commission make ward and local government collation results available on the IReV portal and publish polling unit accreditation figures alongside Form EC8A images.
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