By Chimezie Godfrey
The Independent National Electoral Commission INEC has designed strategies and mechanisms for overcoming some of the identified challenges ahead of the 2023 general elections.
Barr. Festus Okoye, INEC’s National Commissioner & Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee, disclosed this at a workshop for selected journalists, organised by the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung organisation, on Wednesday in Abuja.
Okoye who noted that the Commission learnt valuable lessons from the 2019 general election, and assured of the Commission’s preparedness to address challenges faced during that election.
He mentioned that these challenges include; the challenge of Continuous Voter Registration (CVR), multiple registration, lack of an organized database of births and deaths, operational challenges relating to technology, among others.
He said,”The Commission learnt valuable lessons from the 2019 general election. The Commission also analyzed the election and came to terms with some of the challenges of the said election and the subsequent off-season and bye-elections. The Commission has also designed strategies and mechanisms of overcoming some of the identified challenges.
“The Commission has embarked on the Continuous Voter Registration (“CVR”) Exercise. There are so many communities that are still inaccessible to our registration officers. The Commission has further devolved the CVR to our registration areas on a rotational basis.
The Commission is determined to register all eligible registrants but will not expose its staff to unnecessary danger. The Commission 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.
“Those that have lost their Permanent Voters Cards (“PVCs”), rather than apply for a new one, “ignorantly” register afresh in violation of the law. Those with PVCs that are defaced or damaged simply apply for new ones. 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.
“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.
“Rolling out a new technology has its own challenges. As some of you are aware, 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 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 introduced the INEC Result Viewing Portal (iRev) through which polling unit level results are uploaded to a result viewing portal in real time. The Commission has also introduced the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (“the BVAS”) for voter accreditation and authentication. 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.
“However, the Commission is conscious of the fact that technology does not operate itself and that the human element is ever present. The Commission 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 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.”
Okoye stressed that 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,” he said.
On deployment and provision of security, he noted that Section 27(3) of the Act gives the Commission the responsibility of requesting for the deployment of relevant security personnel necessary for elections and to assign them in the manner determined by the Commission in consultation with relevant security agencies.
He therefore assured that the Commission is addressing these issues under the auspices of the Inter Agency Consultative Committee on election security.
He the Commission is also addressing the huge issue of transporting a large cache of security personnel on Election Day.
Other issues which he assured that the Commission will include, refusal of political parties to comply with the provisions of the law, visually impaired and incapacitated voters, balancing the distribution of polling units, issues relating to transfer of results, movement of staff and materials, among others.
Okoye pointed out that the 2023 general elections will come with challenges and the Commission is determined to surmount these challenges and conduct free, fair, credible and inclusive election.
He revealed that growing insecurity in several parts of the country and the increasing number of IDPs will pose the biggest challenge to the conduct of the 2023 general election.
“So many of the IDPs are in the houses of friends and relatives and have lost their PVCs and it is next to impossibility to recreate their polling units. This is because section 47(1) of the Electoral Act clearly provides that “A person intending to vote in an election shall present himself with his PVC to a Presiding Officer for accreditation at the polling unit in the constituency in which his name is registered.” These persons are no longer in their constituencies and can no longer access their polling units and so many of them have lost their PVCs.
“While it is easy to recreate constituencies and polling units in clustered Camps of IDPs, it is next to impossibility to do so for persons staying in scattered locations.
“For the internally displaced, the Commission will print new PVCs for them and recreate their polling units in their camps and they will be eligible to vote in some of the elections depending on their location and their proximity to their State and Federal Constituencies.
“This is in accord with section 24(1) of the Electoral Act which provides that “In the event of an emergency affecting an election, the Commission shall, as far as practicable, ensure that persons displaced as a result of the emergency are not disenfranchised”.
“Based on this, the Commission developed regulations and guidelines on IDP voting and will implement the intendment of the law and its Regulations and Guidelines,” he said.
Okoye further noted that the Electoral Act 2022 came into force on the 25th of February 2022, has not been tested.
According to him, no election has been conducted under the said law and there is no judicial pronouncement on any of the sections.
“As we move towards the Ekiti and Osun States Governorship elections later this year, issues may emerge that may be the litmus test. But the Commission will continue to take steps to address issues and challenges as they emerge,” he assured.
