ADC REJECTS INEC WARNING, VOWS TO PUBLISH INDEPENDENTLY COLLATED 2027 ELECTION RESULTS
Read Time:2 Minute, 17 Second
By Aishat Momoh. O.
The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has rejected the warning by the Independent National Electoral Commission against the publication of privately collated election results, insisting that Nigerians have a constitutional right to collect, collate and disseminate polling-unit results.
The party said it would deploy its agents and structures to document results at polling units, collate the figures and make verified results available to the public during the 2027 general elections.
The ADC’s position was contained in a statement issued on Thursday by its National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, in response to comments by INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan (SAN), cautioning against the publication of unofficial results.
While acknowledging INEC’s statutory responsibility to declare official election results and announce winners, the party argued that the commission’s mandate does not prevent political parties, candidates or citizens from independently gathering and sharing election information.
“We are aware of our rights to freedom of expression under the Constitution. We are also aware of the limitations associated with those rights. And we hold that our rights to collate and share election results are not abrogated by any of the limitation clauses,” the statement read.
The party added that its agents would document results while its structures collate the figures for public dissemination, with the source and status of the results clearly identified.
The ADC stressed that its proposed collation system would not serve as a substitute for INEC’s official declaration.
According to the party, its objective is to give Nigerians access to results recorded at polling units while leaving the responsibility for determining and declaring election outcomes with the electoral commission.
The party maintained that transparency in the electoral process should not be treated as the exclusive preserve of INEC, arguing that political parties and citizens also have a legitimate role in documenting voting and communicating election information.
It further said its decision to publish independently collated results was not an attempt to usurp the commission’s statutory powers but an assertion of what it described as the constitutional rights of citizens and political parties to access, document and communicate information.
“The responsibility to make official declarations of results and to declare winners of elections cannot reasonably abrogate the right of citizens to collect and collate election results and to share them,” the party added.
The debate over the publication of independently collated results comes as political parties and election stakeholders prepare for the 2027 general elections, with transparency, credibility and the transmission of polling-unit results expected to remain key issues in the electoral process.
Digital platforms have also become increasingly prominent in efforts by political parties, candidates, observers and citizens to document voting and share results as they emerge from polling units.
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