2027 elections: Seven actions INEC must take to build trust in election results, By Samson Itodo

One opportunity to strengthen confidence was the reform of the Electoral Act in 2026. Although the Act makes electronic transmission of polling-unit results to the IREV portal mandatory, the proviso allowing the physical result sheet to override the results transmitted electronically makes the result management process vulnerable to manipulation, and it defeats the entire purpose of electronic transmission. This is of utmost concern because evidence shows the physical result sheet is the classic instrument of manipulation. Where a result has been altered on paper, it is the altered figure that governs collation even when the image on the IReV is the accurate reflection of what transpired at the polling unit. Whatever its stated rationale, the proviso provides legal protection for the very manipulation that electronic transmission was designed to prevent.