‘Be meticulous to avoid inaccurate figures’ – African Electoral Institute urges Electoral Commission

The African Electoral Institute (AEI) is calling on the Electoral Commission (EC) to be diligent in the collation of data and the publication of same to avoid feeding the public with inaccurate and erroneous information in the ongoing Limited Voter Registration Exercise.

In a statement dated May 14, 2024, the AEI cited examples of when the EC gave out wrong figures from the Limited Voter Registration Exercise and had to correct it later.

“From African Electoral Institute's (AEI) Research Desk, the number of registered voters for Day 2 was 19,267 registrants as has been published by the EC, however, the EC published the summation of all the regional figures as 25,287 instead of 19,267. Similarly, the number of voters registered on Day 3 was reported by the EC to be 48,616, instead of 43,417,” part of the statement read.

The AEI believes that the EC is a human institution and as such is prone to errors, therefore, the group advised the election organising body to ensure strict quality control and should not be in a hurry to announce figures.

“African Electoral Institute acknowledges the fact that the EC is a human institution and thereby admonishes the EC to be meticulous and diligent in the compilation of their figures. The EC may have to adopt strict quality control measures to prevent such blunders, because if it must be done, it must be done well.

“The African Electoral Institute believes that there is no need by the EC to be in such a hurry to publish figures as they are not in competition with any other institution to be the first to publish the collated registration results.

“Therefore, a few hours of delay to ensure that the collated figures are accurate will not hurt anyone and would go a long way in preventing avoidable mistakes and subsequent corrections, which impact negatively on the reputation of the Commission,” it added.

The Limited Voter Registration Exercise started on Tuesday, May 7, 2024, and will end on May 27, 2024.

Read the full statement from the AEI below:

EAN/AE

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