THE Christian Council of Nigeria (CCN), has called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), to consider the use of an electronic voting system in future elections.
The President of CCN, Most Reverend Benebo Fubara-Manuel who gave the advice in Abuja while briefing journalists on the just concluded general elections, noted that the electoral process was widely advocated by Nigerians.
CCN also condemned the killings recorded during the electoral process in many parts of the Country.
“This should not be happening at this stage of the nation’s democracy. The Council prays the Almighty God to bring comfort to the families of citizens who lost their lives. We urge law enforcement agencies to ensure that culprits are fished out and prosecuted accordingly to serve as a deterrent to those contemplating making themselves available for such dastardly acts in future elections,” Reverend Fubara-Manuel.
He said in the 2019 General Elections, the Council sensitised and mobilised Nigerians to understand and appreciate citizenship rights and responsibilities.
The Clergy said the CCN also recruited and trained 2600 domestic observers who were deployed across the 36 States and the Federal Capital Territory with spread across polling units, electoral wards and Local Government Areas in the country.
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According to him “We further acknowledge the effort of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in ensuring that the elections held as rescheduled and for being proactive in responding to the complaints of voters especially cases of failed card readers and extension of voting time for some polling units where voting commenced late. We equally applaud INEC for adjusting to the early arrival of officials and voting materials during the Gubernatorial and State House of Assembly elections.
“The Council, however, called on INEC to consider the following recommendations in order to improve on future elections. INEC should improve on its logistic arrangement, putting into consideration the reality of infrastructure as well as human capacity available within a limited time. No element in the chain of operation should be underestimated so as to put an end to the issue of election postponement and late resumption at polls. INEC must also ensure that the reoccurring technical issues relating to the failure of the Smart Card Readers are completely resolved.
“INEC should work in partnership with CSOs to give citizens of voting age intense civic and voter education. This should be an ongoing activity and should start immediately not just some fire brigade approach usually carried out shortly before elections. Newly registered political parties should be restricted to only state-level elections as they do not usually have the capacity to vie for Federal Level positions and are in the habit of withdrawing their candidature or collapsing their structure to support a leading party after being captured for election. Multiple logos and names are also capable of confusing voters too.
“Centralisation of payment of INEC ad hoc staff should be adopted to avoid protests that are capable of delaying the opening of polls as demonstrated by ad hoc staff at Kosofe Local Government in Lagos State. The menace of vote buying seems intensified by political parties. Measures should be taken to ensure arrests and prosecution of all culprits. In fact, adequate security intelligence should be provided at all polling units in order to reduce cases of vote buying.
“Political parties should guard against all forms of incitements against opponents that can lead to violence. Parties aggrieved should seek redress through available legal instruments. The quest for a free and fair election must be seen as a collective effort and not the responsibility of INEC alone.
“The Council calls on stakeholders not satisfied with the 2019 General Elections to explore the established legal channels to seek redress. Politicians are advised to see political office as an avenue to serve humanity and not to waste precious lives. INEC should explore the adoption of the electronic voting system in Nigeria which has been widely advocated by Nigerians.”
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