Chimamanda Adichie: The election is not a literary contest, By Kayode Adebiyi

INEC Election Result Form

…all political parties would already have the results in their hands through their party agents. What remains is the collation of results already known at the ward, local government, state and finally at the National Collation Center for the Presidential Election. The non-transmission of the results that the political parties already have in their hands electronically in real time, does not invalidate the election that has taken place.

Yesterday I read an op-ed by Chimamanda Adichie addressed to the President of the United States published by The Atlantic NP in the United States. Sadly Adichie in very beautiful prose and very misleading language opined that his candidate Peter Obi who came third in the just ended Nigerian presidential election was rigged because Mahmood Yakubu , led by INEC, did not follow the law guiding the 2023 election. in accordance with the electoral law.

In her article, she writes, and I quote: “A law passed last year, the Electoral Law of 2022, changed everything. It provided a legal basis for electronic voter accreditation and electronic transmission of results through a process determined by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). »

The problem with many well-read, educated people with a bit of fame is that they think they know it all and everything they say or write is golden and everyone has to take it at face value. hook, line and sinker. Even when they distort the truth and reality of what they write about.

I will advise Chimamanda to stick to her literary work and stop pontificating on the Nigerian electoral issue as if she were an expert, especially when she has blatantly misrepresented the letters and spirit of the law electoral. As a writer, it behooves him to have first taken the lead in properly reading and distilling election law before misleading his American audience and obviously stirring up new emotions among his Obidient team.

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The electoral law in no way obliges the INEC to transmit the results of the elections electronically in real time. The electoral law stipulates that only the INEC can determine the mode of collection and transmission of the results of the elections. Yes, the INEC, in its pre-election press conference, did say that it would transmit the results live, but yet it is not obliged by law to do so. While INEC erred in over-promising, it did no wrong or violated any law by not transmitting results electronically. You can only sue an institution for breaking the law. You can't sue him for breaking a promise.

In fact, the electoral law even gave INEC a seven-day window after the close of an election during which it can transmit the results to its iReV server. The problem for many people, including Adichie, is that emotions have taken precedence over stated basic principles. They prefer to stick to fake news and rumors as facts.

Judge Emeka Nwite, in a judgment, also held that INEC alone had the prerogative to direct how the presidents of the voting units should transfer the results of the elections, including the proclamation of the total number of accredited voters and voting results.

I believe Adichie and his Obidient team have this idea that electronic transmission of results is an angelic feature of electoral law. This is far from the truth. Rather, it is only a supplement to an already established electoral procedure.

First there has to be accreditation, which this time around every observer hailed as a game changer; even international observers. After the accreditation comes the actual vote of the voters, then the counting of the results and their registration in the EC8 form, which each party representative must sign, as well as the electoral officer of each polling station. Each officer and law enforcement staff at each polling station will have a copy of the EC8 form already signed.