The Independent National Electoral Commission (lNEC) says it
will continue to use and deploy the Smart Card Reader(SCR) in all elections,
including that of Saturday’s rerun election in Kogi West Senatorial District,
Ajaokuta Federal Constituency and Sabuwa State Constituency.
The Commission disclosed this in a statement issued by its
National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee,
Mr Festus Okoye, on Thursday in Abuja, NAN reports.
INEC said that the clarification became necessary in the
light of remarks attributed to Okoye at a programme by the Situation Room,
which gave the impression that Smart Card Readers were no longer useful in the
electoral process.
“To the contrary, the National Commissioner spoke in the
context of attempts by some political interests to willfully by-pass the Smart
Card Reader (SCR) during elections to inflate their votes.
“They do this against the backdrop of the Supreme Court decision that the SCR
is not to be used exclusively to determine over-voting.”
It explained that the commission introduced the SCR in the
electoral process principally as an additional confirmatory and authentication
tool.
It added that the tool was to determine the authenticity of
cards presented by voters and eliminate impersonation, which were serious
challenges to the electoral process in Nigeria.
INEC said that the SCR was designed to strengthen the
integrity of the electoral process and eliminate multiple voting.
“In accordance with Section 49(1 & 2) of the Electoral
Act, 2010 (as amended) and Clause paragraph 10(a) of INEC Regulations and
Guidelines for the Conduct of Elections, a person intending to vote with his
voter’s card shall be verified to be the same person on the Register of Voters
by use of the Card SCR.
“Furthermore, by paragraph 10(bi of the said Regulations and
Guidelines. “Any Poll Official who violates the provisions of paragraph 10(a)
relating to the use of the Smart Card Reader shall be deemed to be guilty of an
offence and shall be liable to prosecution”.
It reminded political parties, candidates, poll agents and
the electorate that resistance to the use of the SCR and obstruction and
resistance to the deployment/distribution of electoral materials constituted
unlawful truncation of the electoral process.
The commission warned that consequently zero votes would be
entered for the affected polling unit.
“The commission will continue to work with the National
Assembly and all the critical stakeholders to reduce malpractices in our
electoral process, including over voting.
“As part of this process, strengthening the legal basis of
the use of the SCR, as well as other amendments that will advance the electoral
process would be vigorously pursued.
“The commission will also continue to work with the security
agencies and other stakeholders to prevent individuals and/or groups from
undermining the use and application of the Smart Card Reader in elections.”
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Title :
Dino Melaye vs Smart Adeyemi: INEC gives update on use of card readers during Saturday’s Kogi rerun election
Description : The Independent National Electoral Commission (lNEC) says it will continue to use and deploy the Smart Card Reader(SCR) in all electi...
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