Why we adopted simultaneous accreditation, voting – INEC


The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has stated that it adopted the simultaneous accreditation and voting since 2016 from the recommendations made by the Commonwealth Observer Mission which observed the 2015 general election in Nigeria. 


Chairman of the commission, Prof Yakubu Mahmood, stated this on Monday when the Commonwealth Observer Mission to Nigeria led by former Tanzanian President, Dr Jakaya Kikwete, visited the INEC headquarters in Abuja. 


The INEC chairman recalled that the report of the 2015 Commonwealth Observer Mission contained 32 recommendations as well as identified institutions that should implement those recommendations.
Yakubu stated that out of the eight (8) recommendations proposed to be implemented by INEC, the commission after studying the report implemented some administratively while those that require amendment of the constitution or the electoral act would have to go through legislative process.


The INEC chairman noted that since the adoption of the simultaneous accreditation and voting, the commission had conducted 194 off season elections and had deployed the same process in all the elections. 
He also informed the 2019 Commonwealth Observer team that the simultaneous accreditation and voting has been enshrined in the Regulations and Guidelines for conduct of 2019 general elections. 


“The last Commonwealth Observer Mission had recommended that we should abolish that system that archaic system, that as citizens or voters are accredited, they should be able to vote at the same time and we have implemented this re commendation way back in January 2016 when we conducted one of the governorship elections in this country. 
“Since then, we have conducted 194 off season elections  and all have been conducted on the basis of simultaneous accreditation and voting or what you call continuous accreditation and voting.

“It didn’t require an amendment to the electoral legal framework for the commission to continue with the system of accreditation and voting. 
“For that reason, the commission used it’s powers under the electoral act to make Regulations and Guidelines. It’s now in regulations for the conduct of 2019 general elections. The method of voting will be continuous accreditation and voting.  
Leader of the team and former President of Tanzania, Dr Jakaya Kikwete, said had come to listen to the preparations made by the commission. 


The ex-Tanzania’s president stated that they would deploy the members of their team to some parts of the country with a view to observing elections.

He noted that the team would not cover the entire country as it is very huge in land mass.     
“We came here to observe not to monitor. Sometimes people call us monitors but we just came here to observe the elections. We are at  the commission today to listen to you the commissioners, whatever you have to tell us in preparedness of the commission to conduct these elections. 

“Then after that we disperse, we deploy the commissioners to almost many places in the country.  We cannot cover every place in the country. Its a huge country.”
The team would also submit an interim and permanent report at the end of their observation.

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