Computer-Generated Slips To Be Used For Accreditation During Elections – INEC

Computer-Generated Slips To Be Used For Accreditation During Elections – INEC
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Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Chairman Mahmoud Yakubu has announced that the commission will replace the Permanent Voters Card (PVC) with a computer-generated voucher for confidence during the election period.

Yakubu announced this new development during a meeting with Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) on Thursday at the INEC conference room in Abuja, which focused on detailed issues of planning and reforms to learn from the experience of the 2023 general elections.The INEC boss said the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS), PVCs will no longer be used as the sole means of identification for voter accreditation on election day, he said.

He said, “Having released our 524-page main report on the election, a copy of which is available on our website, we have consulted widely internally with our own officials and externally with all major stakeholders. 

“With the conclusion of five major off-cycle Governorship elections and nine out of 21 bye-elections since the 2023 General Election, this is the most appropriate time for us to commence the implementation of the recommendations arising from our review of the General Election.”

The Commission said it identified 142 recommendations from internal and external efforts on general preparedness, voter management, voter education and public information, political party and candidate management, election operations, and logistics management. Others are: election officials and personnel, partnership and cooperation, monitoring and supervision, election technology, voting and results management, election security, election crimes, and the electoral legal framework.

According to Yakubu, “Out of the 142 recommendations, 86 require administrative action by the Commission. 

“It is therefore pertinent that we engage first with our Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) because of your frontline role in the implementation of the recommendations. 

“This is followed by 48 recommendations that require action by a variety of stakeholders, including security agencies, mobile network operators, statutory bodies, political parties, transport unions, civil society organisations and the media.” 

He said that on the legal review, there are eight recommendations that require legislative action by the National Assembly. 

“Very soon, the Commission will make a presentation to the Joint Committee of the Senate and House of Representatives on Electoral Matters as they continue to deliberate on electoral reform.

“Among the major highlights of the Commission’s recommendations is the imperative of legal clarity in result management, with regard to manual transfer versus the electronic transmission of results. 

“The Commission also believes that with the introduction of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS), the use of the Permanent Voters’ Cards (PVC) as the sole means of identification for voter accreditation on Election Day should be reviewed. 

“Those who already have the PVCs can still use them to vote, but going forward, computer-generated slips issued to the voter or even downloaded from the Commission’s website will suffice for voter accreditation. 

“This will not only save cost, it will also eliminate the issues around the collection of PVCs and the diabolical practice of buying up the cards from voters in order to disenfranchise them.” 

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