The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has rejected some political parties submissions for polling and collation agents in the upcoming Edo State governorship election, particularly those of the Labour Party (LP) 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 3,000+ 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.

Commenting on the development, Deputy Director, Asue Ogie Campaign Organisation, Rev Olu Martins, said care must be taken by the electoral umpire to ensure that no single new name is smuggled into the list.

“We have been briefed. We are aware of the development and want to clearly state that PDP is in compliance and nothing must be done to smuggle in new agents for APC. The INEC is hereby put on notice. That’s our position.”

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.