The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has said the build up to off-season and 2023 general elections would include the introduction of Electronic Voting Machines (EVM) which must require voters’ presence at the polling units.
According to the commission, in the new arrangement, “All polling units will have a lower threshold of 750 voters and an upper threshold of 1000.”
Speaking in Lokoja at the INEC/IFES workshop Thursday on validation of INEC voter education manual, National Commissioner and Chairman committee on Information and Voter Education, Festus Okoye, said “voting machines will be deployed to polling units and be aligned to existing devices and means that will amply raise the integrity and transparency of the electoral process.”
Okoye explained that, “With the new method, registered voters must still physically go out to the polling units to exercise their franchise. Nothing in an enhanced technology process provides for people voting from the comfort of their homes. The question of internet and cyber voting are issues that are left for the future.”
On the expansion of access to polling units, the national commissioner stated that the commission would “in the next few days, conclude the consultative phase and release clear guidelines for the movement of voting points to decongest the existing ones.”
He explained that “no voting point will be moved from one local government to another. It is also important to underscore the fact that the expansion of polling units will not confer any advantage to any state of the federation other than decongesting existing polling units, degrading overcrowding, aid increase of voter turnout and improve the quality of legal services rendered by the commission.”
Okoye further stated that the commission would resume the continuous voter registration exercise as soon as the expansion of access to polling units is completed.
According to him, “In the new arrangement, new and some old registrants will have on offer, new, accessible and closer polling units.
“For the registration of voters, the Commission will, as always, be guided by the law and the constitution.
“The commission will not impose or accept the imposition of extraneous registration requirements not in tandem with the Constitution and the law.”
On new legal framework to give legal backing to the innovations, Okoye maintained that the Senate Committee on INEC and the House Committee on Electoral Matters in collaboration with INEC have worked hard on a new electoral framework for the country.
He stated that “the new framework would address some of the challenges that have impeded the deployment of technology by the commission to enhance the quality of our elections.”
Okoye also noted that the new legal framework will set a new paradigm for managing the registration of new political parties; streamline the focus of courts in terms of the requisite jurisdiction in the adjudication of pre-election matters.
He added that the new framework would also make provision for early release of funds due to the commission amongst other things.
