Report: INEC Reveals Details Behind ‘HTTP Server Error’ on IReV Portal During 2023 Presidential Poll

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has disclosed a detailed post-mortem report on the 2023 general election, marking the first anniversary of the event. The report sheds light on the failure of the result viewing portal (IReV) during the presidential poll, attributing it to a configuration bug resulting in an “HTTP server error.”

According to the report, the issue arose from the complexity of mapping election results for various constituencies. While the uploads for national assembly elections were successful, the presidential election, being a single, countrywide constituency, encountered difficulties in the folder organization process, leading to the HTTP server error.

The IReV portal, introduced for transparency, faced challenges during the election, with delays in uploading presidential results triggering concerns about potential manipulation.

The report outlines how INEC addressed the problem promptly, deploying “hotfixes” to resolve the HTTP error on the system, allowing the first presidential election result sheet to be successfully uploaded at 8:55 pm on February 25, 2023.

Despite the initial fix, additional issues emerged, causing delays due to a high volume of queued uploads and challenges with BVAS devices being switched off or out of internet coverage. INEC states it has since made improvements to IReV, incorporating quality assurance checks to ensure stability and optimal performance before elections.

The report concludes by highlighting the diverse outcomes of the 2023 General Election, acknowledging challenges but emphasizing the integrity of the process and the varied representation achieved across political parties in executive and legislative elections nationwide.