The chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Professor Mahmood Yaku, made a public address during the official opening of the presidential collation centre for the 2023 general election which was held at the Africa hall, international conference centre, Abuja, Sunday, February 26 2023.
In a recent update, the Independent National Electoral Commission said, “On behalf of INEC, he welcomes all to the formal opening of the 2023 Presidential Election Results Collation Centre.” Some of them are aware that after voting, counting, and recording the results at the Polling Unit level, the presidential election results collate at four stations in Nigeria.
The results are first tallied and compiled at the 8,809 Registration Areas (also known as Wards). At 774 Local Government Areas nationwide, the added and collected results at the Ward level are compiled. After that, they are tallied and assembled in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and each of the 36 states of the Federation. The final compilation of the data for each State and FCT takes place in Abuja, where the election results are announced.
The chairman also added that they commenced by concluding processes, and also he explained the procedure by setting the ground rules mentioned below:
1. The assigned sitting positions should be adhered to by all accredited polling agents, observers, the media, the diplomatic community, and security agencies;
2. The State Collation Officer for the Presidential Election (SCOPE), who also served as the Collation Officer at the State/FCT level, will present the results for each Federal State and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
3. The Resident Electoral Commissioner and security agencies will accompany the SCOPE to Abuja following the collection of the results at the State level;
4. The Collation Secretariat will receive the SCOPE upon its arrival at the Collation Center and arrange the presentation order;
5. The REC and the SCOPE must be invited to the seat designated for the presentation of the results by the Returning Officer;
6. The SCOPE must loudly announce, by the format for presenting the results, how many votes each political party received in the State, as well as any reports of cancellations or areas where elections did not take place (if any);
7. The Returning Officer then solicits the comments and (if any) observations of the poll workers;
8. The Returning Officer requests the SCOPE to provide the original copy of the EC8D;
9. After that, the Returning Officer fills out Form EC8DA, announces each party’s vote total, and then asks the poll workers to sign off on the form;
10. After that, the Returning Officer fills out EC40G(3) and compares it to Form EC8DA to see if any of the candidates meet the legal requirements for declaring their candidacy;
11. The Returning Officer signs Form EC8E and announces the winner if they are satisfied;
12. Additionally, the party agents are invited to request duplicate copies of Forms EC8DA and EC8E from the Returning Officer.
On the other hand, they also added that The Collation Center would be open from February 26, 2023, until the outcome of the presidential election in 2023 is decided. If necessary, there may be interludes or adjournments in the proceedings, and the Returning Officer will make this known.
