Yemisi Izuora
The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has raised serious concerns about some challenges confronting its Continuous Voter Registration, CVR, exercise.
Barrister Festus Okoye, National Commissioner &
Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee, Independent National Electoral Commission, told the media workshop in Abuja, that there are so many communities that are still inaccessible to its registration officers.
He said the Commission has further devolved the CVR to its registration areas on a rotational basis and is determined to register all eligible registrants but will not expose its staff to unnecessary danger.
The Commission, he continued will roll out and roll back depending on the security situation in different parts of the country, however, the issue of multiple and double registration has been a huge challenge in the Commission.
On multiple registration, Okoye complained that those that lost their Permanent Voters Cards, PVCs, rather than apply for a new one, “ignorantly” register afresh in violation of the law.
He said that those with PVCs that are defaced or damaged simply apply for new ones while some that are on transfer or want to transfer their voting locations simply apply for a new one. “All these are in violation of the law and the Commission does not have the capacity to prosecute all the violators and I am sure that the country does not have enough correctional facilities to house the large number of violators.”
Okoye, further complained of lack of an organized database of births and deaths
According to him, Nigeria does not have a reliable data of births and deaths. Furthermore, Nigerians are sometimes unwilling to come forward and provide information on deaths. While it is easy to use newspaper obituaries to delete the names of prominent people who are deceased, it is next to impossibility for the Commission to do a thorough job without a reliable data of deaths and births, he complained.
Speaking on operational challenges relating to technology, Okoye, pointed out that rolling out a new technology has its own challenges.
He said the Commission has introduced new and creative changes in the enumeration of voters; the party nomination processes and the conduct of elections. The Commission is also currently conducting the CVR both physically and online using the new INEC Voter Enrolment Device, the IVED.
The Commission has introduced an online nomination portal through which Political Parties upload the list and personal particulars of their nominated candidates.
The Commission has also introduced an online portal through which international and domestic observers and the media apply for accreditation.
The Commission has equally introduced the INEC Result Viewing Portal (iRev) through which polling unit level results are uploaded to a result viewing portal in real time and the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System, BVAS, for voter accreditation and authentication.
He stated that the Commission is firmly of the view that greater use of technology in the electoral process will to a large extent reduce human interference in the voting, counting and collation process.
“Sections 47(2) of the Electoral Act secures the place of the Smart Card Reader or other Technological Device in the Electoral Process while section 50(2) of the Act gives the Commission the discretion to determine the mode of voting and transmission of results. The Commission had setbacks with the BVAS during the Anambra Governorship election and the FCT Area Council Elections and the BVAS performed well during the 6 bye-elections conducted by the Commission in four States of the Federation on the 26th day of February 2022.” Okoye noted.
However, he said the Commission is conscious of the fact that technology does not operate itself and that the human element is ever present and will continue to learn from issues and challenges that arise from the deployment of technology and will continue to innovate and improve on them.
The Commission also acknowledges the fact that the BVAS did not perform optimally in the FCT Area Council election and took all the criticisms on board and made necessary corrections and adjustments. This accounts for the optimal performance of the BVAS in the six bye-elections conducted by the Commission in four states of the Federation on the 26th of February 2022.
The Commission will continue to use the BVAS to verify, confirm or authenticate the particulars of an intending voter. The BVAS is the new enemy of those engaged in identity theft and multiple voting as it verifies either the finger print or facial of the intending voter. Those that warehoused PVCs, the Consultants and Middlemen that design how to undermine the electoral process and those that hawk and distribute PVCs are now canvassing for the return to incident forms and manual voting.
The Commission will not travel backwards but will continue to improve on its technological base and innovations. The Commission will continue to work with security agencies to protect our equipment and personnel. With the BVAS and the uploading of polling unit level results, violence has left the Collation Centers and reverted back to the polling units.
The Commission will expand the base of the training of its ad-hoc staff to acquaint them more with the workings of the BVAS and other technological innovations of the Commission.