*Settles for manual transmission
*Rules out additional polling units
*Insists accreditation procedure not legal issues
The Independent National Electoral Commission Tuesday disclosed that it has abandoned its earlier plans to transmit results of the 2019 general elections electronically.
This arose after President Muhammadu Buhari refused to assent to the new Electoral Act approved by the National Assembly.
INEC National Commissioner-in charge of Operations, Prof. Okechukwu Ibeanu, said at a quarterly meeting with the media that even as the commission would have loved to use electronic means to facilitate the transmission of results from the polling units to collation centres, INEC would only implement policies that are backed by the laws to guarantee free, fair and transparent elections that would meet international standards.
He said, “Since the Bill on Electoral Act which had the electronic transmission of results was not assented to, the issue has come up repeatedly in the media.
“Clause 22 (x) of the 2010 Electoral Act (as amended) has been misconstrued to mean that it will be electronic transmission of results.
“The extant laws are clear on how results would be transmitted. But we will continue to seek legal backing for electronic transmission of results in future elections.
“So, the transmission of results in 2019 will be in accordance with the Electoral Act, which will be manual.
“INEC has been piloting electronic transmission since 2014. The only reason we need a law is that the law has already made provision on how results would be transmitted and it is through manual process.
“For you to change it, you need another law. So, we need a clear legal provision to invalidate it. So, you need a law to override the extant law. It is already provided for in the Electoral Act on how results are to be transmitted and it is a manual process”.
The commission however maintained that it will deploy improved Smart Card Readers to all polling units to fast-track voter accreditation, even though card readers are not backed by law.
While emphasising that INEC has not changed the number of polling units and voting points used for the 2015 general elections and the 2016 Area Council elections in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), the commission’s chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu, noted that INEC would not create new polling units nor new polling units for the 2019 general elections.
He said: “On polling units, the commission wishes to assure that there is no change in the number of polling units and voting points used for the 2015 general elections and the 2016 Area Council elections in the FCT.
“Any insinuation that new polling units or voting points (settlement) are being created by the commission is utterly baseless and should be disregarded.
The Commission however revealed that the springing up of new settlements, as well as population growth in the nation’s capital, prompted the introduction of Voting Points Settlements (VPS), which he said was to ensure that voters are given pleasant experience during the election, without having to trek several kilometres to a Polling Unit (PU).
According to him, “Each time I drive round Abuja and seeing new settlements emerging, the question that comes to my mind is how do we serve these people on election day, without having to travel long distance.
“Take Gwarimpa for example, Gwarimpa in Abuja, is the biggest estate in Africa. Do you know that there are only four Polling Units in Gwarimpa?
“So, if all registered voters in Gwarimpa are going to vote in four polling units, how many days will it take for proceedings to finish vote?”
Yakubu, who gave reasons why the commission tried to create additional polling units which became a big issue, stated that, “we had to respond to the needs of Nigerians by giving them pleasant voting experience on election day. That is why the commission came up with the idea of voting points in close proximity to main polling units.
“So, where you have over 500 registered voters in a particular polling unit, you create a voting point attached to the main polling unit. And so a number of these voting points were created because of new settlements as a pilot in Abuja. That didn’t change the number of polling units.
“When we did the stakeholders’ meeting for FCT alone, this was discussed and agreed. The political parties even deployed party agents to this VPS, but there is no way we can extend this nationwide at the moment. So, Voting Point Settlements are only in Abuja.”
He added that “the register of voters has been finalised, including the detailed breakdown of the distribution of voters by State, Local Government, Wards and Polling Units. No new units have been created and none will be created for the 2019 general elections”.
He also said the procedure for accreditation and voting were not in the Electoral Act, adding that the commission has powers to implement issues that were considered to be in the realm of policy matters.
“We abolished accreditation before voting because of complaints from the media and international observers because it was observed that voters can be accredited and they go home without coming back to vote,” Yakubu said.
PT presidential candidate promises to form a Government of National Unity.
Presidential candidate of the People’s Trust (PT), Mr. Gbenga Olawepo Hashim, has assured Nigerian electorate that he will confront the challenges facing the country by forming a government of National Unity that will include all political forces across the divide, if he is elected as President in the February 16 poll
Olawepo – Hasim, who spoke in an interview with journalists in Abuja, noted that the urgent task of rescuing Nigeria requires every available good hand, not just in his party, PT, but also some who are good but have been sidelined in the two big parties due to pettiness.
He said, “our government will include by the grace of God, forward looking political leaders in the two major parties and the newly registered parties, the Intelligentsia, professional groups, youths, women and other social interest groups and technocrats that we need from within Nigeria as well as the energetic and patriotic Nigerian Diaspora community .
“I have related across the social movements, political spectrum in the past 30 years and the business contingent of the Nigeria Diaspora for almost ten years, I know firsthand the talents at the disposal of Nigeria, to save the country from the current state of hopelessness.
“I am able to form a broad based government within 48 hours of being sworn in as President by the grace of God to confront the urgent task of securing Nigeria ,uniting her people and bringing economic prosperity and rapid all round infrastructural and social development,”
He also promised to run a government that would not have not revenge and nemesis in the urgent task of rescuing Nigeria, adding that his administration will reach out across the ” Isle” and bring Nigerians quickly to defeat insecurity and poverty
“With 11 states out of the 19 Northern states almost consumed by internal insecurity, cross border banditry and some southern states under the grip of kidnapping, armed robbery and other forms of violence the Nigerian state faces an imminent existential threat that requires all good hands on deck for the urgent mission of national survival and development.
“We are the promise of Africa and that beautiful civilization that the world is waiting for, to manifest. So we shall defeat darkness, hatred and division with love, light and unity,” he said.
Source: authorityngr.com
Disclimer: www.ncgbase.com admin or contributors dosen't own some of these contents reported on this blog. This is a medium of sharing or reboardcasting of news and gist. kindly click link and Like our Facebook Page
No comments: