The Independent Electoral Commission (INEC) has announced that it will conduct a post-elections review for the recent 2023 elections.
The post-elections review INEC stated was scheduled to take place from July 4 to August 5.
According to INEC, the review will begin with a gathering of the Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs).
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Its spokesman, Festus Okoye made the development known in a statement on Thursday.
Okoye disclosed that the review will conclude with a retreat by the commission.
He added that since 2011, the commission has held these review meetings following each general election, and this time the review will examine all facets of the electoral activities before, during, and after the elections.
The All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Bola Tinubu, was declared the winner of the presidential election by INEC on February 25, 2023.
However, two major challengers, Peter Obi of the Labour Party (LP) and Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), are currently in court to contest INEC’s declaration, alleging various electoral malpractices, voter suppression, violence, and the alleged inefficiency of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System, BVAS.
In addition to the presidential election, INEC held elections for both the lower and upper chambers of the National Assembly.
Furthermore, the electoral umpire held elections for governor in 28 states with regular election cycles. The New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) won one state, while the APC won 16 states, the PDP 10, the LP 1, and the LP 2.
Currently, some governorship election results are also being contested before state tribunals.
The general elections weren’t without drama and obvious misconduct by some top INEC officials, including the case of Hudu Yunusa-Ari, a suspended REC in Adamawa State, who received harsh criticism from Nigerians and a reprimand from the commission for his improper and unconstitutional actions during the supplementary elections in Adamawa State.
INEC held it will evaluate the lessons learned from the general elections and determine the best course of action.
The statement read:
“The review will involve the Commission’s officials at National and State levels as well as stakeholders with a view to learning lessons and charting the way forward.
“At State level, the internal review will involve the Commission’s regular and ad hoc staff, including RECs, the 774 Electoral Officers, Heads of Departments, Administrative Secretaries as well as some Presiding Officers and Collation/Returning Officers.
“The external engagement will involve critical stakeholders such as political parties, security agencies, election observers, the media and service providers such as transporters that facilitated the movement of personnel and materials for the election.”
