I appreciate Tonnie Iredia @TonnieIredia for this thoughtful intervention on the relationship between INEC, the media and electoral transparency in Nigeria.
My position is straightforward: protecting the integrity of elections requires more than warning the media against publishing false results. It requires an electoral system in which results are verifiable, transparent and difficult to manipulate. There is an important distinction between INECโs statutory responsibility to formally declare election results and the right of citizens and the media to report results that have been publicly announced at polling units or recorded in authentic electoral documents, provided such reporting is accurate.
We must not confuse the declaration of a winner with the reporting of results at the various stages of the electoral process. The real priority should be to strengthen the process itself. Results must be transmitted and collated transparently, discrepancies addressed promptly, and every stage of the process open to appropriate scrutiny. A credible electoral system should not depend solely on punishing those who manipulate results. It should be designed to make manipulation difficult in the first place.
As Nigeria prepares for future elections, we must move beyond warnings and sanctions towards practical reforms that strengthen public confidence, protect press freedom and safeguard the votes of Nigerians.
Read the full story: https://t.co/IhX5JBWd29
@markessien Was there a specific reason you built yours? Like maybe a certain feature you wanted wasnโt in any of the available options, or just for the heck of it because you can. Just curious. Cool stuff, though. ๐๐ฟ
A colloquium is an academic conference, seminar, or formal meeting where experts, scholars, or students gather to discuss a specific topic, present research, and engage in question-and-answer sessions.
In Nigeria, every political rally is a colloquial colloquium