On the possibility of the media announcing election results before INEC’s official declaration, by Samson Itodo – THISAGE

To address this issue, it is important to understand the process of managing election results. Election results are first announced at the polling unit level and immediately made public through verbal declaration and posting of result sheets. The purpose of this public announcement is to promote transparency. Once the results are announced at the polling unit, they become public information.

Furthermore, the introduction of the INEC Results Viewing Portal (IReV) was designed to increase transparency in the electoral process. The aim is to make the results accessible to citizens and stakeholders, allowing them to follow the results management process while reducing opportunities for manipulation during collection. In this context, the media can report results that have already been officially announced at polling stations because those results are already in the public domain.

This is particularly important given the widespread concerns and mistrust surrounding the results management process. Historically, the collation phase has often been seen as the weakest link in the electoral process and the point at which political actors can try to compromise the results. Control of the media and citizens therefore has several important purposes:

1. Protects INEC from political pressure.
There is no doubt that election management bodies may come under pressure from powerful political interests. When the results have already been publicly announced, documented and aggregated by independent observers and media organizations, it becomes more difficult for any attempt to alter them to succeed. Public awareness of the findings strengthens INEC’s ability to resist undue pressure and uphold the integrity of the process.

2. Strengthens the integrity and credibility of the electoral process.
Independent reporting, monitoring and aggregation of officially announced polling unit results creates an additional layer of transparency and accountability. This helps strengthen public trust in the process and discourages attempts at manipulation.

At the same time, it is important to distinguish between the announcement of the results and the declaration of the winner. INEC is the constitutional authority authorized to declare election results and ensure that a candidate is duly elected. The Declaration goes beyond the publication of polling unit results; is the formal legal declaration that a candidate has won an election and has been declared the winner. Until INEC makes such a declaration, no candidate can legally be considered the winner of the election.

However, reporting or aggregating results that have already been officially announced at polling locations is not the same as declaring a winner. The media may report and analyze such publicly available findings, provided they do so responsibly, accurately and in accordance with established professional and ethical standards.

That said, media organizations must remain aware of the reality of the results management process. During harvesting, several factors can influence the final result. INEC can annul results where an overvote is confirmed, while adjustments can also occur from polling units where elections did not take place, were postponed or were disrupted by violence or other incidents. These considerations are taken into account during the comparison process and can ultimately influence the final results.

This is exactly why all actors, including the media, should avoid declaring winners before INEC completes the comparison process and makes its official declaration. Reporting results that have already been announced by INEC at the polling unit, constituency, local government or state level is entirely different from declaring an election result. The former promotes transparency and public oversight, while the latter remains the exclusive constitutional responsibility of INEC.

Therefore, media organizations can responsibly share and aggregate officially announced results as part of their public information role, but must be careful not to present such reports as a final declaration of the election result. Until INEC officially declares and indicates a winner, all reported figures should be understood as part of an ongoing results management process.

Ultimately, all actors, including the media, civil society organizations and observers, must operate in accordance with the principles of integrity, professionalism, accuracy and ethical conduct. Publishing false, inaccurate or misleading results can undermine public trust and attract legitimate institutional sanctions.

However, where the media responsibly reports and analyzes results that have already been officially announced by INEC, such reporting increases transparency, strengthens public scrutiny and contributes to democratic accountability without encroaching on INEC’s exclusive constitutional mandate to declare and nominate a winner.

Samson Itodo is the Executive Director of Yiaga Africa

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