Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) has deplored what it termed seeming infractions and non-adherence to laid down rules during the just-concluded presidential election. In a statement, it noted that electoral processes world over are governed by laws and rules pre-defined before commencement of electioneering.
The body said the credibility of any election is based on level of compliance with laid-down rules and procedures. It lamented that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) repeatedly gave assurances of preparedness to conduct free, fair, credible and transparent elections, yet delivered shabbily.
TUC noted that Nigerians were further buoyed by passage of the Electoral Act 2022 (as amended) that specified electronic transmission of results. It recalled that in the buildup to this year’s general elections, INEC defined in its guidelines that election results would be uploaded from the polling units directly to the Result Viewing Portal (IReV), using the Bi-Modal Voter Accreditation System (BIVAS) machine in deference to provisions of the Electoral Act.
However, the labour centre regretted that all of this was not done, neither was any concrete explanation offered by the electoral umpire until almost 48 hours conclusion of election when a press statement was issued.
The statement reads: “This is not acceptable as it has dented the credibility of the results being announced in different parts of the country, as the citizens and stakeholders cannot independently authenticate them.
By Gloria Nwafor
Source: guardian.ng
