INEC to seek legal clarity on electronic transmission of results, may phase out PVC

The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Mahmood Yakubu, has said the commission would, among other things, seek ‘legal clarity’ in election result management with regard to the manual transfer or the electronic transmission of election results.

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Mr Yakubu, a professor, disclosed this on Thursday during a meeting of the Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) of the commission in Abuja.

He said it is part of the commission’s implementation of recommendations contained in the report of the 2023 general elections.

He said the commission is ready to commence the implementation of the recommendations after review and wide consultations with stakeholders in the electoral process as well as its staff members.

“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,” he said.

“The hardcopies of the General Election and Review reports will be presented to the public shortly. The softcopy of the Report will also be uploaded to our website in earnest,” he added.

Other reforms under consideration

According to Mr Yakubu, some of the recommendations to be implemented include early voting for officials such as security personnel, election officials, journalists and the phasing out of Permanent Voters’ Cards (PVCs) as the sole means of accreditation for voting.

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Part of the recommendations is the unbundling of INEC with the establishment of an electoral offences tribunal and a separate agency to handle the registration and regulation of political parties, he said.

“Other areas of reform include advocacy for affirmative action for greater participation of under-represented groups, more robust voter education and public communication to combat fake news and misinformation.

“Furthermore, the Commission intends to review the mechanisms for a more effective implementation of agreements on logistics with the transport unions and other service providers by consolidating on the recent experience with early deployment and commencement of elections in the recent Ondo State Governorship election.”

Reviewing the use of PVCs

Mr Yakubu noted that the commission strongly suggested the review use of the Permanent Voters’ Cards (PVCs) as the sole means of identification for voter accreditation on election day.

INEC has a maxim in the existing electoral process that goes “No PVC, No Voting” which means individuals who do not present their PVCs would not be accredited to be voted.

The commission also calculates the number of eligible voters by the number of persons who have collected their PVCs from the commission.

“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,” the INEC chair said.

READ ALSO: INEC to present eight election reform items to National Assembly

Early/Special voting for election officials

Mr Yakubu also stated that the report contains recommendations on early/special voting for Nigerians who do not currently vote due to the role they play during elections.

He listed affected professionals to include INEC officials, security personnel, ad hoc staff, observers and journalists who are deployed outside the places where they registered to vote.

“There are also recommendations in support of diaspora voting,” he said.

“Similarly, the Commission will step up action on voter access and distribution to Polling Units.”

Cleaning up the voter register

The INEC chair said the commission also intends to, as a matter of urgency, develop protocols for the cleaning up of the voters’ register in collaboration with other agencies such as the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) and the National Population Commission (NPC).