INEC Denies Vote Tampering in FCT Poll

• According to INEC, the officially recorded and uploaded result shows the party secured 121 votes

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has dismissed allegations of vote tampering at the Kuroko Health Centre polling unit in Yangoji Ward, Kwali Area Council, following Saturday’s Area Council elections in the Federal Capital Territory.

In a statement issued on Tuesday by the FCT Resident Electoral Commissioner, Eko Hot Blog gathered that Aminu K. Idris, the commission described as false and misleading the viral claim that a political party polled 1,219 votes at the unit.

According to INEC, the officially recorded and uploaded result shows the party secured 121 votes, not 1,219 as circulated online.

The clarification came after reports questioned how the polling unit—where 345 voters were registered and 213 were accredited—could produce figures that appeared mathematically impossible.

INEC explained that the confusion stemmed from a clerical mistake made by the presiding officer during result documentation.

After counting the ballots, the officer initially wrote 122 votes for the party but later corrected the figure to 121 following a recount conducted openly at the polling unit. The correction involved cancelling the last digit and properly updating both the numerical and written entries.

The commission emphasised that its technological systems, including the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and the INEC Result Viewing Portal, are designed to prevent result manipulation. It noted that the total number of accredited voters was 213 and that the 121 votes recorded were consistent with that figure.

INEC added that any attempt to input an inflated number, such as 1,21,9 would have been automatically detected and rejected by the system.

The electoral body assured the public that all figures used for collation at ward and area council levels aligned with BVAS records and that the FCT polls were conducted in substantial compliance with the Electoral Act and established guidelines.

It urged citizens and media practitioners to confirm information through official sources before making claims that could undermine confidence in the electoral process.

Reaffirming its commitment to transparency, INEC stated that while genuine errors can occur, they are promptly identified and corrected. It maintained that the current controversy arose from a corrected clerical mistake and does not reflect the official results used for collation and declaration.