The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has rejected the submissions of polling and collation agents from political parties, specifically the Labour Party (LP) and All Progressives Congress (APC), ahead of the forthcoming Edo State governorship election.
The rejection was due to widespread failure to meet the required digital submission guidelines.
This development was confirmed by INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, during a meeting with political parties in Abuja on Thursday.
Prof. Yakubu reiterated the commission’s commitment to digitalising the electoral process, stating that the manual method of agent nominations is “gone for good.” He emphasised that political parties must adapt to the digital procedure, which has now become the standard for submissions.
Despite prior training sessions and the availability of a help desk, political parties reportedly failed to meet the submission criteria, particularly regarding the quality of images uploaded for Polling Unit, Ward, and Local Government agents. The APC, LP and ADP each have about 3000+ agents disqualified while the PDP had the lowest with only 141 agents disqualified.
Prof. Yakubu highlighted that while observer groups and media organisations have successfully complied with the digital requirements, political parties must do the same to ensure smooth operations on election day.
He also stressed that the Commission would only produce accreditation tags for agents whose details meet INEC’s guidelines.
In preparation for the election, INEC plans to conduct a mock accreditation exercise to test the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and the INEC Result Viewing (IReV) portal. The test run, scheduled for September 10, 2024, will take place across 12 polling units in six Local Government Areas, representing Edo State’s three senatorial districts.
This move underscores INEC’s determination to modernise Nigeria’s electoral processes, even as it faces resistance from political parties unprepared for the digital transition.
