INEC ready for general election —Agboke, Oyo REC

Earlier this week, Resident Electoral Commissioner in Oyo State, Mr Mutiu Agboke had an interaction with journalists to give an update on preparations of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) towards ensuring the successful conduct of the general election, starting on Saturday, February 16th. WALE AKINSELURE brings excerpts of that media interaction.

Logistics
IN terms of staff and movement of non-sensitive materials, the commission has already signed an MOU with Nigeria Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) and National Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO) to ensure early and prompt arrival at various polling units on the day of election. This however, will be domesticated at the state level with the aim of achieving same purpose. About 90 percent of non-sensitive materials have been received at the state level from Abuja. We have received voting cubicles, generating sets and other materials are already being deployed to local government INEC offices. Ballot boxes for the Presidential/Governorship election will be in Red colour; Senatorial/House of Assembly box will be Black colour; while House of Representatives will be Black colour. The collation centre building for this election is presently being completed at the state office and should be ready for use before the commencement of the general election. It is expected that sensitive materials will soon arrive as from next week and party agents with journalists will be invited to witness the distribution of these materials. The commission is to make use of public buildings, such as schools, there will be provision of adequate amenities including security personnel to make the place conducive, secure and functional for use during election period.

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Innovations

Some of the innovations introduced by the commission for the smooth conduct of the election include the use of Enhanced Smart Card Readers, using Permanent Voter Cards as a tool to vote, the prohibition of the use of mobile phones within the perimeter of the voting cubicle to avoid vote buying, the elderly women, albinos and other people with one disability or the other are to be given priority during election period. There is provision of Braille ballot papers for the blind and magnifying glasses for the albinos.

Use of Index or thumb finger to vote

No one stops any voter from using the thumb but why we are just also advocating for index finger. Meanwhile, the kind of ink we are going to use is the one that will not allow your vote to smear to another column. In other words, once you put your finger on the ink and thumb print, it gets dried immediately. Whether you use the thumb or index finger, none of them is disqualified.

Uncollected PVC and pressures to sell them

We are not going to sell PVCs. INEC has not opened shop for PVCs. Since I arrived Oyo State, I have never and will never be under pressure either an individual or group of individuals. There is no pressure that will make me compromise the process, there is no pressure that will make me to compromise your results; there is no pressure that will make me to compromise your PVCs. The uncollected PVCs will be brought back to the state office, harmonized, counted and kept in the safe custody of the Central Bank of Nigeria.

Security arrangements amid violent campaigns

We are engaging the stakeholders. Recently, the Commissioner of Police and police authority had an engagement with all the political parties, with Civil Societies and Organisations in attendance. We told them what should happen during the campaign. Usually, it is one thing for you to tell people what they should do, it is another thing for them to do what they think they want to do. But, I want to tell you that security is on ground to checkmate these excesses. On the Election Day, I can assure you that we will do our best not only to guarantee the security of voters, but also of adhoc staff and members of the press.

Results transmission

As a matter of legal framework, the results will be transmitted manually but if we collate manually, INEC will still pilot. For example, in the various elections we have conducting, including the one in Eruwa, we piloted electronic transmission. We are not making it a matter of policy now, because that was one of the thrust of the amended electoral bill that was not assented to which could have given a legal framework to it. For us, it is manual process, but in our own pilot way to authenticate the process, we will still transmit but that is the job of the ICT department.

Use of Smart Card Readers

At various polling units, we will use the Smart Card Readers to ensure the collation of results. However, the primary work of the SCR is to accredit and authenticate. That is why it is not easy for anybody to pass through it. When their agents get to the polling units, the first thing they should do is to demand to see the card reader and look and see that it reads zero. We are just configuring the SCR and it cannot work for election purposes not until the morning of 16th of February. One therefore wonders when one hears that SCR can be preloaded. Configuration and preloading does not have the same consequences. In various strategic locations, we will employ Ratech supporters such that they attend to any breakdown in SCRs.

Eligible voters living in isolated areas

Those whose areas are isolated and they have to travel, INEC has identified some areas and we have marked them out, there are other areas that may not be included. If those ones are not included, where they are registered is where they should vote. Of course, no movement on Election Day.