No One Can Influence 2023 Elections Results, INEC Declares

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Thursday said the outcome of the 2023 elections can only be influenced by peoples’ votes and not by any officials of the electoral body.

Obo Efanga, Resident Electoral Commissioner in charge of Edo State, said any candidates that want to win elections should convince the electorate and the results will be announced based on the actual votes counted.

“It is not possible for any REC to influence the outcome of 2023 elections. Even if it were possible, I will not do it. For the politicians, anybody that want to win election should be able to convince people to vote for them.

“I will be fair to everyone. One of the assurances I want to give is that the only way politicians can win elections is through the people votes and not anyone influencing the outcome of the election.

“So, anybody that want to win election should go to the field, talk to the people, tell them why they should vote for you, encourage them to vote, and when they vote, the vote would be counted and results announced based on the actual vote counted. That is the only way to win election,” he said.

Efanga, while receiving hand over note from the state INEC administrative secretary, Caroline Bassey, in Benin City, disclosed that preliminary voter register will soon be displayed at the ward level for prospective voters to check their names and file for any objections if there is any infractions.

“It is the comprehensive voters list of each polling unit that will be on display at the ward level, so anybody who is eligible to vote in the next election, is encouraged to go and check if their names are not there, or a mistake in it so that they can bring it to our attention and would be corrected.

“Permanent Voters Cards (PVC) are going to be available at the ward level where comprehensive voter list would be displayed and that people who have not collected their PVC can also pick them up from there,” Efanga said.

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Speaking on the purported emergence of parallel candidates by political parties, he noted that it is not possible to have double candidates for the elections as only the candidates on the list published by INEC are the candidates known to the electoral body for the elections in the state.

“I don’t know how you came about referring to a party having double candidates, there can only be one candidate in an election for a party and that is the candidates INEC released and published.

“I am here to work, we have a little over a 100 days to the general election and so we have to double up the programme we are doing. I understand that we have received non sensitive materials, and now looking at the sensitive materials closed to the election” he said.