INEC clarifies FCT poll results, dismisses manipulation claims

By Goli Innocent

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has dismissed allegations of result manipulation at the Kuroko Health Centre polling unit in Yangoji Ward, Kwali Area Council, during Saturday’s Area Council elections in the Federal Capital Territory.

In a statement on Tuesday, signed by INEC FCT Office Resident Electoral Commissioner Aminu K. Idris, the commission explained that the viral figure of 1,219 votes for a political party was incorrect. “The official result recorded and uploaded from the said polling unit shows that the political party in question scored 121 votes, not 1,219 as alleged on social media,” the statement read.

INEC noted that the polling unit has 345 registered voters, with 213 accredited voters, making the inflated figure mathematically impossible. The discrepancy was traced to a human error by the presiding officer, who initially entered “122” and later corrected it to 121 after recounting in the open. “She cancelled the ‘2’ at the end and slotted in a ‘1’ in front of the cancelled ‘2’ to make it 121. She also corrected the figures in words,” the statement added.

The commission stressed that its technological safeguards, including the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and the INEC Result Viewing Portal, prevent any manipulation. “Any attempt to enter a figure like 1,219 would have been automatically flagged and rejected by the system,” INEC said.

INEC reaffirmed that all results used for collation at the ward and area council levels matched the BVAS data and that the FCT elections were conducted in substantial compliance with the Electoral Act and INEC guidelines. “The Commission urges members of the public and media commentators to verify information with official records before drawing conclusions capable of eroding public confidence in the electoral process,” the statement concluded.

The electoral body emphasised that genuine errors are promptly investigated and corrected, and misinterpretations of figures do not reflect the official record used in declaring results.