Proponents of electronic voting for future elections had cause to heave a sigh of relief yesterday as the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared that the 2019 elections may be the last “mainly manual” election in Nigeria.
Chairman of INEC Prof. Mahmood Yakub said the proposed amendment to the 2010 Electoral Act involved deepening the deployment of technology in future elections.
He spoke in Lagos during the opening of a two-day retreat with the National Assembly Committees on Electoral Matters.
Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege, who represented Senate President Ahmed Lawan, said the National Assembly is working towards a comprehensive amendment of the electoral process by way of repeal and re-enactment in response to recent Supreme Court verdicts.
The various apex court verdicts bordering on pre-election matters, according to Omo-Agege, were “directly tasking the National Assembly to make vital electoral reforms in this country by amending or even overhauling the extant Electoral Act.”
Daily Trust reports that the “Bill to Amend the Electoral Act (No.6) 2010 and for Related Matters, 2019” is undergoing legislative process in the Senate.
The bill spells out 26 clauses aimed at amending several sections of the Electoral Act, ranging from neutrality of electoral officials, compilation, display and storage of the voters’ register and legal recognition for electronic accreditation of voters, among others.
The INEC chairman said the deployment of electronic voting is achievable with the support of the National Assembly.
“It is time for a new legislation to remove all encumbrances to further deployment of technology in the electoral process, especially in the accreditation of voters and transmission of election results.
“Sections 49 and 67 of the draft bill deal with these twin issues. These sections will be thoroughly discussed at this retreat. Working with the National Assembly, it is our hope that the 2019 general elections will be the last mainly manual election in Nigeria,” he said.
The INEC chairman said the expeditious passage of the Electoral Act amendment is critical to the preparations for the next general elections.
“There is need to expedite the process, particularly because the bill under consideration at this retreat is the one emanating from the Senate. The House of Representatives is working on its own bill. Given the urgency of the situation, the two chambers of the National Assembly may wish to consider adopting the current bill and to organise a joint public hearing for the passage of the amendments into law in earnest,” he said.
The deputy Senate president reiterated that reforming the electoral system is an “extremely important” national assignment.”
“Without question, the 9th National Assembly is firmly committed to electoral reform. We recognise across party lines that it is in our nation’s best interest to work together to strengthen our electoral laws and, consequently, better protect this very important and consequential democracy on the African continent,” he said.
The chairman, Senate Committee on Electoral Matters, Senator Kabir Gaya (APC, Kano), said the ongoing amendment in the Electoral Act was to, among others, “reduce election litigations predicated on unlawful exclusion of candidates; create room for introduction of other technological devices such as the card reader, among others; to enhance and improve the integrity of the electoral process.”
Chairman, House Committee on Electoral Matters, Hon. Aisha Jibril Dukku (APC, Gombe), reiterated that while there was an improvement in the last election, much still needed to be done to address the “glaring irregularities” which usually come to the fore at the end of every election.
