ADC Vows To Collate, Document And Share 2027:Election Results
The African Democratic Congress, ADC, says it would collate, document and share polling unit results of the 2027 general elections in spite of warnings against such action by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, which has banned publications of privately collated results.
The African Democratic Congress, ADC, says it would collate, document and share polling unit results of the 2027 general elections in spite of warnings against such action by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, which has banned publications of privately collated results.
ADC spoke against the backdrop of warnings by the INEC Chairman, Professor Joash Amupitan, against the sharing of privately collated election results, stressing the commission’s position that official declarations of results remained its responsibility.
According to the ADC, although it would respect INEC’s exclusive powers to declare official results and winners, such exclusive powers did not stop political parties and citizens from independently gathering, verifying and sharing election figures.
The party made this known in a statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, saying its decision was based on its constitutional right to collect and disseminate oe share information.
Abdullahi's words, “We are aware of our rights to freedom of expression under the Constitution. We are also aware of the limitations associated with those rights. And we hold that our rights to collate and share election results are not abrogated by any of the limitation clauses.
“The ADC will share our collated results with the public. Our agents will document results, our structures will collate them, and we will communicate verified figures to the public, clearly identifying their source and status.
According to the ADC, although it would respect INEC’s exclusive powers to declare official results and winners, such exclusive powers did not stop political parties and citizens from independently gathering, verifying and sharing election figures.
The party made this known in a statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, saying its decision was based on its constitutional right to collect and disseminate oe share information.
Abdullahi's words, “We are aware of our rights to freedom of expression under the Constitution. We are also aware of the limitations associated with those rights. And we hold that our rights to collate and share election results are not abrogated by any of the limitation clauses.
“The ADC will share our collated results with the public. Our agents will document results, our structures will collate them, and we will communicate verified figures to the public, clearly identifying their source and status.
“Although we recognise INEC’s responsibility to make official declarations of results and to declare winners of elections, that responsibility cannot reasonably abrogate the right of citizens to collect and collate election results and to share them."
The party further noted that its polling agents would document results at polling units while its party structures would collate and verify the figures before making them public, even as it also affirmed INEC’s statutory responsibility to declare election results, emphasizing however, that this did not mean that citizens or political parties would surrender their rights to independently collect and disseminate election information.
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