The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has rejected calls from political parties seeking to regulate its activities. In a recent development, the Labour Party has requested permission from the commission to access the BVAS Machine. The party requests to witness the reconfiguration of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) machines used in the presidential election.
The Labour Party is challenging the outcome of the presidential election that produced Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as President-elect. As part of its efforts to gather sensitive materials for evidence at the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal (PEPT), the party sought access to monitor the reconfiguration process and backing up results on BVAS machines. However, the commission strongly opposed the request, citing that political parties cannot regulate their activities.
Speaking on a Channels Television programme, “Politics Today,” INEC National Commissioner and Chairman of Information and Voter Education Committee, Festus Okoye, emphasized that the commission’s role is to regulate the activities of political parties and not the other way around. He said, “Political parties can’t regulate the commission’s activities.”
