By Joy Odor Reportcircle News
With barely days to the Federal Capital Territory council elections, the electoral umpire has moved swiftly to extinguish what it described as a dangerous misunderstanding that could inflame public tension.
The Independent National Electoral Commission on Wednesday clarified that its chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, never promised “real-time” transmission of results, a phrase now fuelling political speculation ahead of Saturday’s vote.
The clarification followed headlines suggesting voters would watch results stream live as ballots are cast.
INEC said that is false.
During an inspection tour of Kuje, Gwagwalada and Bwari area councils, Prof. Amupitan explained that the Commission would continue its established electronic transmission procedure introduced in 2022 not a live broadcast of voting.
According to the Commission, his statement was straightforward:
Results will be transmitted electronically using BVAS.
The real process step-by-step
INEC outlined the legal procedure:
Voting concludes at the polling unit
Ballots are counted manually
Party agents sign result sheets
The result form (EC8A) is scanned
The scanned copy is uploaded to the viewing portal
Officials stressed that uploading happens after collation at the polling unit, not simultaneously while voters are still casting ballots.
Why “real-time” sparked alarm
The Commission warned the phrase suggests a live tally something not recognised by the Electoral Act or election regulations.
Such an expectation, it said, risks:
public confusion
suspicion of manipulation
unnecessary political tension
INEC urged journalists to avoid technical misinterpretation, warning inaccurate reporting could trigger agitation in an already sensitive electoral climate.
Despite rejecting the live-feed narrative, the Commission reaffirmed full reliance on electronic transparency tools.
The BVAS will accredit voters and upload polling-unit results to the public viewing portal, maintaining what it called a technology-driven process.
INEC insisted nothing has changed in its election procedure only the public understanding.
The message from the Commission:
There will be electronic transmission.
There will be transparency.
But there will not be live streaming of votes.
With expectations rising ahead of the February 21 poll, the clarification signals the battle for credibility may begin even before the first ballot is cast.
