Ekiti Election Update: Missing Results Halt IReV Uploads

While the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has announced the final results for the Ekiti State governorship election, the uploading of polling unit results to the Result Viewing Portal (IReV) is not finished.

A check by PREMIUM TIMES on Sunday at 4:00 am showed that uploads to the portal had stopped at 2,379 of the state’s 2,445 polling units. This means 66 polling unit results are still not on the public viewing platform.

This situation comes as the electoral commission started the statewide collation of results at its headquarters on Iyin Road, Ado-Ekiti. Collation officers, party agents, election observers, and security personnel gathered for the final stage of the electoral process and to announce the winner.

The state collation exercise was meant to start at 10:00 pm after the local government collation was done. But the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) for Ekiti State, Bunmi Omoseyindemi, said there were connectivity issues that affected the transmission of some results to the IReV portal.

The IReV portal as at 4.00 am Sunday 21 June

The IReV platform was set up by INEC to promote transparency. It allows the public, political parties, and election observers to view scanned copies of polling unit result sheets uploaded from all over the country.

Though the commission has always said that physical result sheets are the legally accepted basis for collating and declaring election results, the portal has become key for transparency in recent elections.

Ekiti State’s governorship election on Saturday took place at 2,445 polling units across the state’s 16 local government areas. The election featured candidates from 14 political parties, including the current Governor Biodun Oyebanji of the All Progressives Congress (APC), who is looking for a second term.

Other notable candidates include Wole Oluyede of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Oluwadare Bejide of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Oyebanji Olajuyin of the Labour Party (LP), and Opeyemi Falegan of the Accord Party.

The missing 66 polling unit results on IReV are likely to attract attention from stakeholders, especially because the commission is committed to transparency and public access to election results.