The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has given a resounding assurance that the upload of election results for the forthcoming Bayelsa, Imo, and Kogi elections on the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV) will be free from technical glitches. This statement comes after the well-documented challenges faced during the 2023 elections, which INEC attributed to technical difficulties.
Rotimi Oyekanmi, INEC’s Chief Press Secretary, made this significant announcement during an interview on Channels Television’s “Politics Today” show last Friday. Oyekanmi stated that the 2023 elections marked the inaugural deployment of the IReV for general elections, and though there were some initial hiccups, they had since been effectively addressed.
“We have been using the IReV for all governorship elections, but [in 2023] was the first time we deployed it for the general election setting. Well, we had a glitch for some hours, and we fixed it. But I can assure you that this time around, we are not going to have glitches,” Oyekanmi affirmed.
He further emphasized that the technical issues had been thoroughly resolved, with recent successful mock accreditations serving as a validation of the technology’s reliability. Oyekanmi acknowledged that while technology may present occasional challenges, INEC had taken the lessons learned from the 2023 general elections to heart.
“Technology can throw up challenges, but by and large, we have learned our lessons from the 2023 general elections,” he stated.
Moreover, Oyekanmi clarified that the function of the IReV portal was centered on uploading results rather than transmitting them. “We are not transmitting; we are uploading,” he underscored. He emphasized the distinction between the two processes, explaining, “All we are doing is that we are taking a picture of the polling unit results and uploading the same to the portal.”
With this proactive approach and commitment to ironing out any technical issues, INEC aims to ensure a seamless and trouble-free experience for the public as they access election results on the IReV platform for the upcoming elections in Bayelsa, Imo, and Kogi.
