15 parties reject use of card readers for election

FIFTEEN political parties and five presidential candidates, on Wednesday, in Abuja, protested against the proposed use of card readers by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for the conduct of the forthcoming general election.


They said the card should not be used for the election, noting that there was propensity for the poll to be derailed if the fears being expressed over the readers were not addressed.
Speaking on behalf of the parties and the candidates, the national secretary of Advanced Congress of Democrats (ACD), Dr Onwubuya Breakforth, said if the card reader should develop some technical problems, there is the possibility that the consequences of such development would affect about 40 or 50 per cent of the polling booths nationwide.
He noted that the time factor in the use of the card reader was an issue likely to create chances of manipulation, which could result in massive rigging of the election and ultimately disenfranchise bonafide voters.
Breakforth suggested that the easiest method of accreditation and verification of permanent voter cards should be for INEC to use manual confirmation of the pictures and particulars or data of the PVC holders, to ensure that it corresponds with the voters register.
This way, he said, would minimise the obvious chances of voters’ disenfranchisement.
“The concept of using card readers for this coming elections, as being planned by INEC, has a lot of implications which may negatively impact on the conduct of a credible, free and fair elections on March 28 and April 11.
“The first drawback is that this device is relatively a new technology that has not been tested or tried in a kind of mock election or previous formal elections prio to this time.
“This would have enabled the nation and the electoral umpire itself to properly ascertain its workability and efficiency in the conduct of the real general elections.
“The decision by INEC to commence the test-run of the use of card readers in some of select states across the country on March 7, 2015, just less than three weeks to the commencement of the re-scheduled election, would not provide the commission enough time to rectify whatever anomaly that would likely arise from that exercise.
“Moreover, if the card reader should develop some technical problems, there is a possibility that the consequences of such development would affect about 40 or 50 per cent of the polling booths nationwide,” he said.
(Tribune)