STRENGTHENED ELECTORAL PROCESS: THE MEANING OF INCONCLUSIVE ELECTIONS TO INEC – COMMISSIONER AMINA BALA ZAKARI

Contrary to popular perception held by the general public that inconclusive elections are as a result of weak electoral processes, National Commissioner and Chairman of the Board of the Electoral Institute (BEI), Amina Bala Zakari has argued that they are as a result of a strengthened electoral process which is robust and has progressed steadily.

She explained that the emergence of strong parties, fielding strong candidates in keenly contested elections with narrow margins; evidence based elections with the use of technology especially use of the Smart Card Reader and the e-Track leading to a more transparent process are some of the indicators of a stronger electoral process.

12 MILLION PERMANENT VOTER CARDS (PVCs) UNCOLLECTED – PROFESSOR MAHMOOD YAKUBU

Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Mahmood Yakubu has disclosed that a total of twelve million Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) were yet to be collected. The Chairman made this known at a meeting with Editors at the Sheraton Hotel, Lagos, last week.

He said: “We have a little over seventy million registered voters in Nigeria. We have twelve million Permanent Voter Cards uncollected and we have at least Seven Hundred Thousand PVCs unprinted and then we have a large number of Nigerians who are not registered and they have come of age”.

He disclosed that the Commission would commence Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise for the Edo and Ondo governorship elections before the National Continuous Voter Registration (CVR).

Ex-INEC Chair Jega Hopes in Technology, Urges Global Attention to Nigeria

Former Chairman, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Attahiru Jega, has expressed the optimism that increasing use and mastery of technology by the commission would enhance the transparency and credibility of Nigerian elections.

He said despite momentary challenges encountered with the Smart Card Reader in the 2015 general election, its use along with chip-based Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) contributed in a major way to the positive acclaim of the elections.