2015: TMG launches quick count election result verification

• …unveils website

By Umar Muhammad Puma

head of the 2015 general election, the Transition Monitoring Group (TMG), has launched an independent 2015 quick count project that will provide the most accurate information on the conduct of voting and counting process on Election Day.

Speaking at the launching, TMG chairman Zikirullahi Ibrahim said the quick count is an advanced observation methodology based on statistical principles that will give voters greater confidence in the electoral process and reduce the potential for post-election violence by providing independent non-partisan verification of the official election result as announced by INEC.

He revealed that the TMG will deploy specially recruited trained observers to a carefully determined representative random sample of polling units in every geopolitical zone, every state and every one of the 774 local government areas of the country, adding that the TMG has applied the same method for the 2011 presidential election, and it showed that the official presidential result reflected the votes cast at polling units.

“Quick count has always been successfully conducted for the staggered elections. Most recently are the Anambra and Ekiti gubernatorial election which verify the accuracy of the official result. While the Anambra quick count showed a clear pattern of logistics problems, the Ekiti quick count showed a marked improvement in INEC preparations” TMG added.

Meanwhile, the TMG has also unveiled its first of its kind website that will make available detailed, non-partisan data on the conduct of the 2011 presidential election to the INEC, political parties, civil organization and the public.

“The websites, www.tmgtowards2015.org, provides valuable and timely information to everyone interested in election to assist them to design their initiatives for the next year’s poll. It is equally provides clear and objective benchmark for assessing the conduct of the 2015 elections, he said.