The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has turned down the political party submissions for polling and collation agents in the upcoming Edo State governorship election, particularly those of the Labour Party and All Progressive Congress APC, citing widespread non-compliance with digital submission requirements.

This development was confirmed by INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, during a meeting with political parties in Abuja on Thursday.

Prof. Yakubu reiterated the commission’s commitment to digitalizing the electoral process, stating that the manual method of agent nominations is “gone for good.” He emphasized that political parties must adapt to the digital procedure, which has now become the standard for submissions.

Despite prior training sessions and the availability of a help desk, political parties reportedly failed to meet the submission criteria, particularly regarding the quality of images uploaded for Polling Unit, Ward, and Local Government agents. The APC, LP and ADP each have about 3000+ agents disqualified while the PDP had the lowest with only 141 agents disqualified.

Prof. Yakubu highlighted that while observer groups and media organizations have successfully complied with the digital requirements, political parties must do the same to ensure smooth operations on election day. He also stressed that the Commission would only produce accreditation tags for agents whose details meet INEC’s guidelines.

In preparation for the election, INEC plans to conduct a mock accreditation exercise to test the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and the INEC Result Viewing (IReV) portal. The test run, scheduled for September 10, 2024, will take place across 12 polling units in six Local Government Areas, representing Edo State’s three senatorial districts.

This move underscores INEC’s determination to modernize Nigeria’s electoral processes, even as it faces resistance from political parties unprepared for the digital transition