Considering the usual manipulation of election results at Ward and LGA collation centers (for Governorship and legislative elections), and State collation centers (for Presidential election), what if INEC phases out these intermediaries and transmits results directly from Polling Units to the central iRev portal?
This approach would ensure real-time upload of results, enhancing transparency and accountability. The National Collation Centre in Abuja could display uploaded results on large screens, allowing party agents and observers to verify and reconcile the results in real-time.
To further boost INEC would establish centers across the 36 states and FCT, where uploaded results would be displayed on large screens. This would enable party agents and observers in each state to verify the results against their field records, especially for Gubernatorial and Legislative elections.
The various Returning officers at all levels would simply announce valid results and declare winners, streamlining the process.
There real-time information would also be accessible to all, would enhance citizen’s trust, promote the integrity of elections, and significantly reducing opportunities for manipulation.
The attached image is from the Results Operations Centre (ROC) of the Independent Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC). The ROC serves as a central hub for managing and disseminating election results in real-time.
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