THE Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has suggested using computer-generated voting slips as an alternative to permanent voter cards (PVCs) in future elections.
The chairman of INEC, Mahmood Yakubu, stated this at the quarterly consultative meeting with residents electoral commissioners (RECs) in Abuja on Thursday, December 12.
He stated that PVCs should no longer be the sole requirement for voting, especially with the introduction of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS).
He opined that voters who already had PVCs could still use them, but going forward, computer-generated slips would be sufficient for accreditation. This change would save costs and prevent issues with PVC collection and voter disenfranchisement, he argued.
“The Commission also believes that with the introduction of the bimodal voter accreditation system (BVAS), the use of the permanent voters’ cards (PVC) as the sole means of identification for voter accreditation on election day should be reviewed.
“This will not only save costs; it will also eliminate the issues around the collection of PVCs and the diabolical practice of buying up the cards from voters in order to disenfranchise them,” he stated.
According to the INEC boss, among other key highlights of the Commission’s recommendations is the imperative of legal clarity in result management with regard to manual transfer versus the electronic transmission of results.
Yakubu announced that the commission had extensively consulted with its officials and major stakeholders after releasing its comprehensive 524-page report on the 2023 general election.
He added that with the completion of several off-cycle elections, he believed it was the ideal time to implement the recommendations from the election review.
He said out of the 142 recommendations, 86 required administrative action by the Commission.
On the legal review, he said eight recommendations required legislative actions by the National Assembly and promised that the Commission would make a presentation to the joint committee of the Senate and House of Representatives on electoral matters as they continued to deliberate on electoral reform.
He said the review report also contained recommendations on early/special voting for the millions of Nigerians who could not vote on account of the roles they play during elections, such as INEC officials, security personnel, ad hoc staff, observers, and journalists who are deployed outside the places where they registered to vote.
Additionally, he stated that recommendations had been made to include diaspora voting, unbundle the Commission by creating an electoral offences tribunal, and establish a distinct body to manage political party registration and regulation.
The INEC chairman also noted that the commission planned to work with other organisations, including the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) and the National Population Commission (NPC), to create procedures for the expeditious cleaning up of voter registration.
A reporter with the ICIR
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