The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has vowed to document, collate and publish polling-unit results during the 2027 general elections despite a warning by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) against the dissemination of privately collated election figures.
The party, through its National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, said it recognised INEC’s exclusive responsibility for officially declaring election results and winners but maintained that the commission’s statutory powers did not prevent political parties and citizens from independently gathering, verifying and sharing election information.
In a statement, the ADC argued that its decision to publish polling-unit results was backed by the constitutional right to freedom of expression, insisting that the right to collect and disseminate election figures remained valid within the limits prescribed by law.
“We are aware of our rights to freedom of expression under the Constitution. We are also aware of the limitations associated with those rights. And we hold that our rights to collate and share election results are not abrogated by any of the limitation clauses,” the party said.
The ADC disclosed that its polling agents would document results at polling units, while its party structures would collate and verify the figures before communicating them to the public.
“The ADC will share our collated results with the public. Our agents will document results, our structures will collate them, and we will communicate verified figures to the public, clearly identifying their source and status,” the party said.
Reiterating its position, the opposition party said INEC’s authority to make official declarations should not be interpreted as a restriction on citizens’ ability to independently collect and share election results.
“Although we recognise INEC’s responsibility to make official declarations of results and to declare winners of elections, that responsibility cannot reasonably abrogate the right of citizens to collect and collate election results and to share them,” the ADC said.
The party’s position follows a warning by INEC Chairman, Professor Joash Amupitan, against the sharing of privately collated election results, with the commission maintaining that the official declaration of results and winners falls within its statutory responsibility.
