A coalition of civil society organisations has raised concerns over new features introduced by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in the management and validation of election results, warning that the changes could create uncertainty and weaken confidence in the electoral process.
The organisations, under the Nigerian Civil Society Situation Room, said the Commission’s 2026 Regulations and Guidelines for the Conduct of Elections introduced an electronic EC8A on the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS), while also providing for a backend validation of transmitted results before they are displayed on the INEC Results Viewing Portal (IReV).
In a joint position on electronic transmission and collation of election results, the groups said neither process had been sufficiently explained by INEC, particularly regarding how the systems work, where electronically entered results are transmitted and who is responsible for validating results at the backend.
They said the absence of clear information about the backend validation process was capable of raising questions about the integrity of the results-management system.
“The backend validation is not visible to the public, polling agents or observers. The Commission is yet to provide a clear explanation on what is validated, who undertakes the review, or how long it should take,” the organisations said.
According to them, the gap between the transmission of results and their publication on IReV could create uncertainty and undermine public confidence in the process.
They recalled that the backend validation process had been abandoned by the previous Commission because of its potential for misuse and manipulation of election results.
The civil society groups also questioned the necessity of introducing the electronic EC8A as another layer in the results-management process.
They noted that the 2026 Electoral Act provides that election results should be transmitted to IReV, but argued that the regulations did not clearly explain where results entered into the electronic EC8A would be sent or the purpose they would serve.
The organisations warned that the arrangement could lead to several versions of the same polling-unit result being available within the electoral system.
They explained that these could include the physical EC8A, the scanned result uploaded to IReV and retained on the BVAS, as well as the electronically transmitted e-EC8A.
“This creates unnecessary confusion, especially because it is not clear what happens in the case of any discrepancy,” they said.
The groups consequently called on INEC to review the new arrangements and provide greater transparency around the management of election results.
They specifically urged the Commission to abolish backend validation of transmitted results before publication on IReV, or ensure that the process is subjected to public and independent scrutiny.
They also asked INEC to publish a results-transmission protocol that clearly explains the entire results-management process, from the polling unit to final publication, while providing for an independent assessment of the upgraded BVAS and IReV platforms.
On the electronic EC8A, the organisations recommended that INEC remove it from the results-management process, citing concerns over its potential misuse and the possibility of generating information that could facilitate further manipulation of elections.
They warned that an electronic collation layer could provide advance information about electoral outcomes, which compromised officials could exploit to influence the process.
The groups said the forthcoming Osun election would provide an important test of INEC’s results-management system and urged the Commission to act on the recommendations.
“The forthcoming Osun election is a major test of the results-management process,” they said, urging INEC to use the election to demonstrate its commitment to transparency, accountability and the integrity of Nigeria’s electoral process.
The statement was endorsed by the Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room, Accountability Lab Nigeria, Centre for Media and Society (CEMESO), Centre for Journalism, Innovation and Development (CJID), Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), Dataphyte, ElectHer, International Press Centre, Inclusive Friends Association, Nigerian Women Trust Fund, TAF Africa, TAP Initiative and The Kukah Centre.
