Dr. Abimbola Oyarinu, a political strategist and Research Fellow at the Institute for African and Diaspora Affairs, claims that the failure of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to electronically transmit election results on Saturday resulted in the election of an unpopular candidate.
He stated this while speaking at a QUEST TIMES-facilitated Twitter Space.
“The fact that INEC declared the winner and everything went silent afterwards shows you that this is an unpopular mandate.
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“I see the incoming government facing a legitimacy crisis because it was not the popular choice of the people,” he said.
In the recently concluded polls, he rated INEC’s overall performance as average.
He stated, “So far, our country has made no progress toward holding a credible election.
“However, with the deployment of BVAS, the reality is that no politician or candidate can solely rig elections due to the level of this technology.
“I gave INEC a 50 percent rating because some voters were disenfranchised and there were numerous problems with the uploading of results to their Portal, but INEC was unable to assist.
“Unfortunately, INEC couldn’t have stopped the counting at the collation centre but it is important to back to the electoral act to ensure that results must be transmitted from the polling unit.
“Results must be provided for each polling unit. We must investigate the feasibility of holding elections in one week, as well as other methods of conducting elections that strictly adhere to the laws.
Dr. Oyarinu confirmed that INEC failed in the aspect of electronically transmitting the elections, emphasizing that all of these mistakes must be corrected in the gubernatorial elections.
He said “We need improvement in the gubernatorial elections and we appeal on the elections Umpire to ensure that the BVAS work.
“I want to laud those that help to create the electoral laws because it will help the common man. It’s evident and clear that this is not a popular mandate.”