2027: ADC Vows to Collate, Share Polling-Unit Results Despite INEC Warning

The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has vowed to independently document, collate and share polling-unit results during the 2027 general elections, despite a warning from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) against the publication of privately collated results.

The ADC said its plan is aimed at protecting votes cast for its candidates and ensuring that results announced at the end of the electoral process reflect the figures recorded at polling units.

The party’s National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, said the ADC recognised INEC’s statutory responsibility to collate and officially declare election results, but maintained that citizens and political parties have the right to collect and share information, including election results.

Abdullahi’s position followed a recent warning by INEC Chairman, Professor Joash Amupitan, against the sharing of privately collated election results.

The ADC argued that independently gathering and publishing polling-unit figures does not prevent INEC from carrying out its constitutional responsibility to conduct the election, collate official results and declare winners.

Under Nigeria’s electoral system, INEC conducts the official collation and declaration process through various levels, from the Registration Area and Local Government Area to state and, for the presidential election, the national level.

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The ADC said its independent collation would provide its candidates and supporters with their own record of results from polling units and allow them to compare those figures with results emerging through the official process.

The party has previously said its decision was influenced by the 2023 general elections, when concerns arose over the electronic transmission of results to the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV).

Abdullahi had said the party would no longer rely solely on INEC to protect its votes, arguing that political parties must put their own mechanisms in place to monitor results from polling units through the collation process.

The ADC has also raised concerns about the appointment of Returning and Collation Officers for the 2027 elections.

In September, the party called on INEC to review the use of academics who had openly expressed support for political candidates in sensitive electoral positions.

It argued that people who had publicly taken partisan positions should not subsequently be assigned responsibilities involving the collation of results or declaration of winners in elections contested by their preferred candidates.

The party urged INEC to publish the names of proposed Returning and Collation Officers ahead of the elections to allow political parties and members of the public to raise concerns about possible conflicts of interest.

The latest dispute has placed renewed focus on the distinction between independent election monitoring by political parties and the official collation and declaration of results, which remains the responsibility of INEC.

The ADC maintains that its planned collection and publication of polling-unit figures is intended to promote transparency and protect its votes, rather than replace INEC’s official declaration.

As preparations for the 2027 elections intensify, the disagreement highlights the growing debate over how political parties, election observers and citizens should independently monitor results while preserving INEC’s legal authority over the official electoral process.

2027: ADC Vows to Collate, Share Polling-Unit Results Despite INEC Warning