INEC Chairman Prof.Jega The Chairman, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Attahiru Jega, has said that every effort will be made to make the 2015 general election not only the best in Nigeria’s political history, but also the most acceptable to Nigerians.
He spoke in Paris, France at a luncheon in his honour by the staff of the Nigerian Embassy led by the Acting Head of Mission and Charge-de-Affaires, Ambassador Felix Awanbor.
Jega, who is at the head of INEC delegation to observe the French presidential election scheduled for tomorrow, said several strategies were being put in place to achieve the goal
Jega’s spokesman, Mr. Kayode Idowu, quoted him as saying: “I must note that conducting elections in our country is a very challenging task. But we did our best under the circumstances, and we are pleased with the general acceptance that the 2011 election was perhaps the best in the history of our country.
“We also know, however, that it wasn’t good enough for many of our compatriots, because people had very high expectations. But things have been so bad for so long that it would take a little more time to get rid of all the baggage that we inherited. We did our best in April 2011.’
“We believe that between now and 2015, we will be able to do many things and put many structures in place to ensure that the 2015 elections are not only the best in the history of our country but also the most accepted by our citizens, not just our development partners.
“We are trying to institutionalise a system of continuous voter registration. We have been able to set up data bases at the national level and in all the states and the Federal Capital Territory. We are now working very hard to clean up that data and consolidate it, and to ensure that both the states’ data and the national data are well integrated.
“Our hope is that before the end of this year, we will have the technology sorted out so that people can register continuously.”
“And it would not just be fresh registration; people who have changed their addresses can apply, following a stipulated procedure wherever they are, to have their registration status updated. That is what we are working on and, God willing, before the end of this year (2012), we will achieve that. And once we do that, there is no need again to continue to do a major registration before an election.
“I must mention here that we just got the approval of the Federal Executive Council to issue what we call permanent voter cards. We issued temporary voter cards before the April 2011 elections. The permanent voter cards we will be issuing will be chip-based, and will contain all the information about voters.
“Our hope is that by 2015, we will be able to, at the minimum, ensure 100 per cent authentication of voters if we cannot do electronic voting. We will ensure that whoever votes in 2015 will be somebody who has brought his or her card, and that card will be inserted in a card reader so as to establish that he or she is the true owner of that card. That is what we are working hard to achieve.”
“Obviously, that card is also useful – if the resources are available and we are able to have a review of the legal provisions – it is possible with that kind of card to even move towards electronic voting. But we won’t want to raise too many hopes in that regard because there are still many challenges associated with that. We are doing our best to, first of all, ensure that our data base is solidly established, and that the technology is seamless.”
On the agitation of Nigerians resident abroad to vote in the country’s elections, he said: “I must say that it is a possibility. But we have to work very, very closely between now and 2015 – not just between the Commission and Diasporans, but between the Commission and other stakeholders to see, first of all, whether there will be the resources we need to have the technology to put this in place; and secondly, whether there is a consensus of opinion about what methodology to use if we are to provide the opportunity for Diaspora voting.”
“It is possible, and it is conceivable. In fact, we are not opposed to it as a commission, because whatever opportunity we can make available, so long as it can be done transparently and without any likely negative consequences, it is something that we will be happy to do.
‘’But it will require, given our own history of mutual fears and suspicion about the use of technology and so on, a consensus among stakeholders; because there is no way we can do Diaspora voting without heavy reliance on technology.
‘’Luckily, 2015 is three years or so down the line. We will do our best as a Commission. We have not yet discussed the matter and decide how to go about it, but I’m sure we will have to soon confront it.”
The Acting Head of Mission at the Nigerian embassy had told the INEC team that the April 2011 general election elevated Nigeria in global reckoning and eased diplomacy routines.
“Your work gave us a new spring in our steps and we are very proud of you and our country,” he stated
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