2015 Elections: INEC sensitizes Anambra stakeholders on card readers

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Anambra state Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) yesterday held a stakeholders' forum for all election stakeholders in the state at Women Development Centre, Awka to sensitize them on the usage of the card readers for 2015 general election.

The state Resident Electoral Commission, Engr. Edwin Offor Nwatarali invited experts in information and communication technology to educate the stakeholders as a way to assuage their fears over rigging as the election would be scientifically proven to be free and fair.  
 Nwatarali also in answering questions made it clear that the issue of multiple candidacy is not in INEC's records, nor is it INEC's responsibility but that of the court and political parties.
Nwatarali who chaired the meeting explained that the intent of the meeting was to discuss how to make the forthcoming election to go free and fair; to agree on modalities and how all the participants are meant to conduct themselves.
He reveals that INEC is working seriously to be ready for the election.
According to him, 74% of the PVC received from the national headquarters has been distributed. He warned that anyone without PVC is not authorized to come near any polling unit. Of the 1.74 million PVCs received, 1.28 million has been distributed. The distribution, he says, will continue till the 8th of February. The only challenge, according to him, is that they ate yet to receive PVC for those who did transfers of their registration from other states, though a complaint has been filed to the headquarters.
The REC, in the light of his target to achieved 100% effectiveness and efficiency in the 2015 election, introduced some innovations for the forthcoming election. The primary innovation was the use of an electronic card reader.
An ICTC personnel was invited to demonstrate how the electronic card reader will be used for accreditation and voting process was conducted using a volunteer's voter's card. During the demonstration, the card reader was configured to a particular polling unit. The serial number of the voter's card was entered into the card reader and the bio data of the card bearer was generated on the screen of the card reader. The thumb print of the card bearer was imprinted by the card bearer as a way of confirming he was the owner of the card and that the voter's card was genuine.

In her explanation, the ICTC personnel explained that a card reader will not work without configuring it to a particular polling unit. The Resident Electoral Commissioner also explained that there is provision for manual accreditation to accommodate those whose thumb print, due to such ailments as diabetes, cannot be read by the electronic card reader. This manual accreditation would be done with the voter's register after which an ink is pasted on the accredited voter's cuticle. He added that the accreditation process will commence at 8:00am on the Election Day and continue till 1:30pm, after which the voting process proper will commence.

The voting process will end with the voting of the last voter after which the result will be pasted on the polling unit. To facilitate transparency, the REC said that if any of the card reader's is deemed faulty and cannot be replaced before 1:00pm, that polling unit's electoral process will be postponed till the next day.

In his remarks on security personnel's preparedness for the election, the Anambra state commissioner of police Mr. H.H. Karma said that all the security personnel have been engaged in series of workshops in view of the election and that all security agencies are ready and committed to the success of the electoral process. The police commissioner appealed to all the stakeholders to play by the rules and do all within their means to make the forthcoming elections violence-free in Anambra state.

Governor Willie Obiano represented by Commissioner for Special Duties, Chief Sir Norbert Obi, in his address, thanked the State INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner for his efforts especially the recent innovation to ensure everybody gets the Permanent voters card as well as the introduction of the electronic card reader.
He said that what is bothering the government with regards to election in Anambra State is the uninterested attitude of Anambrarians towards voting process. He enjoined all and sundry to help in sensitizing the populace on the need to perform their civic duties.
Also present in the stakeholders' meeting was Mrs Odigwe, representing the Anambra state director of National Youth Service Corps; Hon. Bartho Igwedibia, the Anambra state chairman of IPAC ( Inter-party Advisory Council); the commanding officer of 302 Artillery Regiment; Dr. Mike Ozoemena, representing the state director of National Orientation Agency, president generals of various communities in the state, members of the press and several INEC officials.