Dr Ibrahim Modibbo, a public affairs analyst, has urged opposition political parties in Nigeria to unite and develop a coordinated strategy to safeguard democracy and protect votes during elections.
Modibbo made the call in an interview with Arise TV on Tuesday while speaking on challenges affecting Nigeria’s electoral process, particularly the collation and verification of election results.
He said opposition parties must ensure that votes cast at polling units are properly counted and that the results announced by electoral authorities correspond with those recorded and transmitted through the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) Result Viewing (IReV) portal.
“They need to make sure that all their votes are counted, the use of IReV must be guaranteed, and it must tally with the results that have been announced,” Modibbo said.
According to him, strengthening the collation process is critical to improving confidence in elections, as the major challenges often arise after voting has ended and results are being collated.
Modibbo said political parties and their agents must remain vigilant throughout the process to ensure that results from polling units are properly protected and accurately reflected at the various stages of collation.
“The people themselves have to protect their votes, and of course the political parties, particularly the opposition, have to protect them,” he said.
He also stressed the importance of citizens, political parties and other stakeholders working with INEC and security agencies to ensure that elections are conducted in a transparent and credible manner.
Modibbo maintained that technology could help strengthen the electoral process, but argued that political parties and voters must actively monitor the process to ensure that technological tools are properly used and that discrepancies are addressed.
