ABUJA – THE Independent National Electoral Commission,INEC, has extended the conduct of the Presidential and National Assembly elections,earlier expected to have ended Saturday.
The commission said it was because of the card readers to facilitate easy accreditation of voters.
In a statement in Abuja, Saturday, by its Chairman, Information, Voter Education and Publicity Committee,Dr. Chris Iyimoga,the commission expressed regret over the development,vowing to probe the incidence.
The statement read: “INEC has been monitoring field reports on the accreditation process since the commencement of the poll this morning.
” Whereas the process has gone on well in several places, in some others it has encountered some challenges, especially with the use of the card readers.
“Consequently, accreditation has been slow in many places and has not commenced at all in some others.
“Even though the Guidelines for the Conduct of the 2015 general elections provide that where card readers fail to work and cannot be replaced, elections in such Polling Units will be postponed to the following day, the scale of the challenge we have observed today has necessitated a reconsideration of this provision of the Guidelines.
” The Commission has, therefore, decided as part of the Guidelines for the Conduct of the 2015 general elections that in Polling Units where card readers have so failed to work, the Presiding Officer shall manually accredit voters by marking the register of voters, upon being satisfied that the person presenting a Permanent Voter’s Card (PVC) is the legitimate holder of the card.
“The above not withstanding, in Polling Units where accreditation was suspended to the following day in accordance with the existing Guidelines, arrangements will be made for voters to vote tomorrow, subject to the provisions of the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended).”
by ROTMANLUV 2023-07-08, 17:34
