Ondo by-election: INEC reports peaceful poll despite network glitches

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has expressed satisfaction with the conduct of the Ondo South Senatorial District by-election, describing the exercise as peaceful despite some network-related challenges.

 

Speaking while monitoring the election in Okitipupa on Saturday, the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in Ondo State, Mutiu Agboke, said most polling units opened on schedule, with electoral officials arriving early to commence voting.

 

He noted that some polling units became operational as early as 7:43 a.m., reflecting the commission’s preparedness for the exercise.

 

Agboke also commended the turnout of voters and disclosed that security personnel had been adequately deployed across the six local government areas participating in the by-election, with no security incidents reported.

 

He acknowledged that network issues affected voter accreditation in some polling units but described the situation as a technical challenge already being addressed by INEC’s technical team.

 

According to him, it was still too early to determine the level of voter turnout, adding that the commission would rely on data from its monitoring dashboard before making any assessment.

 

Also speaking, INEC National Commissioner, Prof. Kunle Ajayi, said results from polling units would be uploaded electronically through the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) to the INEC Result Viewing (IReV) Portal after votes are counted and result sheets signed by party agents.

 

He clarified that the IReV portal only displays scanned result sheets and does not automatically compute election results, noting that final results would be determined at the senatorial collation centre.

 

The by-election is being held to fill the vacant Ondo South Senatorial seat following the appointment of former senator Jimoh Ibrahim as Nigeria’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations.