As part of preparations for the general election, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) will be conducting field tests on the functionality of the smart card readers (CRs) to be deployed for the accreditation of voters on election day.
According to the commission’s Decision Extract issued recently and signed by its Director, Commission’s Secretariat, Ishiaku A. Gali, the field tests would take place in two states of each of the six geopolitical zones of the federation and it would take place simultaneously on Saturday, March 7, 2015.
The states selected for the exercise are: Ekiti and Lagos in the South-west; Anambra and Ebonyi in the South-east; Delta and Rivers in the South-south; Kano and Kebbi in the North-west; Bauchi and Taraba in the northeast; and Niger and Nasarawa in the North-central zone.
According to INEC, the Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) of the selected states would be charged with the tasks of selecting registration areas with the full complement of Permanent Voters Card (PVCs) and with an appreciable distribution of such PVCs for undertaking the field test.
Also they are to ensure that the register of voters in respect of all polling units in the selected registration areas is printed for the conduct of the exercise.
INEC further directed its national commissioners to supervise the conduct of the exercise in their zones, adding that RECs who are not selected for the exercise should observe the conduct of the exercise in their zones in conjunction with the national commissioners, and they would carry out engagements with key stakeholders at the state level, and in particular, stakeholders in the selected registration areas where the exercise would be conducted to ensure massive participation by registered voters.
Providing further clarification, the commission’s Director, Voter Education, Mr. Oluwole Uzzi, yesterday stated that the demonstration of the pilot scheme in two states in each of the six geopolitical zones is aimed at explaining to the people what the card reader technology is all about.
He added that over 700,000 ad hoc staff would also be engaged in the over 150,000 polling units across nation and debunked the misconception that the use of card readers would amount to electronic voting.
The Electoral Act does not allow electronic voting, he asserted.
Uzzi spoke at a youth enlightenment workshop in Abuja, explaining: “The card reader has the biometrics of everybody registered in any polling unit, it carries the name, photograph and other details of the voter.
“It is also to authenticate the person who has the card. We are practically taking these cards around these 12 states. If you are not the owner of the card, your biometrics will not be verified.
“All the details will be transmitted to the central server for all to see. It is a technological backbone that will nullify all illegal votes.”
He said for the test run, INEC would select a particular ward in a local government of the selected 12 states for the testing.
“If you have your card and you are registered in any particular area, you will go there and we will demonstrate how we are going to deploy the card readers,” he said.
Uzzi however cautioned that a negligible error could occur in the course of deployment, but assured his audience that 99 per cent accuracy of the card reader could be guaranteed.
Their deployment, he said, would drastically nullify all irregularities in the voting process. (Thisdaylive)
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