Nigerians may have to cope with the new method the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is adopting ahead of the 2019 general elections.
This is because the electoral body has declared that there would be no manual method of voting in the next general election as this would be phased out all over the country. The Nation reports that INEC chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu made this revelation while addressing executives of the forum of State Independent Electoral Commissions (SIECs) during a courtesy call at the commission’s Abuja headquarters.
He stated that INEC is doing all it can to replace the manual process with the latest technology in the conduct of local in elections.
“We can no longer continue to conduct elections manually in Nigeria, we must introduce modern technology as being done in other countries, very soon the use of technology for the conduct of local elections in the Country will be mandatory “It will make the process transparent and very open as it should be, the use of smart card, otherwise known as Card reader machine has come to stay, though it requires a lot of resources, we see we can do it because it adds value and more credibility the electoral process in the country, some states have been using it in the conduct of their elections, we are seeing how we can make it to go round,” Professor Yakubu said.
He noted also that the SIECs of the commission would deepen democracy in Nigerian by collaborating to work together. According to him: “We will continue to collaborate and cooperate with SEICs and other Organisations in improving elections management in the country.”
