By Nchetachi Chukwuajah
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has dismissed claims of manipulation of the election result at the Kuroko Health Centre polling unit in Yangoji Ward, Kwali Area Council, following Area Council elections held in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) on Saturday, February 21.
INEC dismissed the claims in a statement on Tuesday, February 24, signed by the Resident Electoral Commissioner of the INEC FCT Office, Aminu K. Idris.
In the statement, INEC said the viral figure of 1,219 votes for a political party was incorrect and misleading.
It reads: “The official result recorded and uploaded from the said polling unit shows that the political party in question scored 121 votes, not 1,219 as alleged on social media.”
INEC said the clarification followed reports suggesting that the polling unit, which has 345 registered voters and 213 accredited voters, had a candidate securing 1,219 votes.
According to the statement, the discrepancy arose from a simple human error by the presiding officer. The officer recounted the ballots and initially entered “122” for the party, later correcting it to 121 after a recount in the open.
The statement added, “She cancelled the ‘2’ at the end and slotted in a ‘1’ in front of the cancelled ‘2’ to make it 121. She also corrected the figures in words.”
INEC stressed that such manipulations are impossible with the technological safeguards within its Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV).
“The number of accredited voters was 213. The score entered into the BVAS for the party concerned was 121. The total votes recorded were consistent with accreditation figures,” the statement added.
The commission also noted that any attempt to enter a figure like 1,219 would have been automatically flagged and rejected by the system.
The electoral body further assured the public that all results used for collation at the ward and area council levels were consistent with the BVAS data and that the FCT elections were conducted in substantial compliance with the Electoral Act and INEC guidelines.
“The commission urges members of the public and media commentators to verify information with official records before drawing conclusions capable of eroding public confidence in the electoral process,” the statement said.
