Policy Roundtable on Electronic Transmission and Collation of Election Results

To improve transparency, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) introduced the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV) to capture and publicly display polling unit results. However, the 2023 general elections revealed critical vulnerabilities and implementation gaps. Failures in the upload of polling unit results to IReV, inconsistencies between physical and electronic results sheets, and the contested role of these technologies in election litigation have prompted urgent national conversations about the legal framework governing electoral technology, the operational capacity of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), and the evolving role of the judiciary in adjudicating technology-related election disputes.

Yiaga Africa convenes this roundtable in recognition of the critical nexus between electoral technology, legal frameworks, and democratic outcomes. The roundtable is premised on the understanding that credible elections in Nigeria require not only robust technological infrastructure but also coherent legal standards, institutional capacity, and judicial competence in the application of digital evidence.

The roundtable is also situated within Yiaga Africa’s broader Election Manipulation Risk Index (EMRI) and #ANewINEC campaign which undertake comprehensive analysis and tracking of factors that are likely to undermine electoral integrity and also call for the entrenchment of institutional independence ahead of 2027. Technology governance is central to this agenda, as an independent INEC must demonstrate both the will and the competence to deploy electoral technology with fidelity to electoral integrity.