Ahead 2019 general election, chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Mahmood Yakubu, on Tuesday, hinted that the commission was planning to phase out manual conduct of elections in the country.
The INEC boss, who dropped the hint while receiving in audience the executives of the forum of State Independent Electoral Commission (SIIEC), who paid him a courtesy call at the Commission’s Headquarters in Abuja, stated that the commission would, in place of the manual process, introduce modern technology in the conduct of elections throughout the country.
According to him, “we can no longer continue to conduct elections manually in Nigeria, we must introduce modern technology as being done in other countries. Very soon, the use of technology for the conduct of local elections in the country will be mandatory.
“It will make the process transparent and very open as it should be. The use of smartcard, otherwise known as card reader machine has come to stay, though it requires a lot of resources, we see we can do it, because it adds value and more credibility the electoral process in the country. Some states have been using it in the conduct of their elections, we are looking at how we can make it to go round,” he added.
While assuring the visitors of the Commission’s adequate collaboration during his tenure as part of efforts to deepen democracy in Nigeria with the conduct of free,fair and credible elections,,the INEC boss said, “we “ll continue to collaborate and cooperate with SEICs and other Organisations in improving elections management in th country
Earlier, the chairperson of the Forum, Mrs Gloria Ukpong, who is also the chairperson of the Akwa Ibom State SIEC had said that the members came around to remind the INEC boss of the good working relationship that existed between the Forum and the immediate past commission under Professor Attahiru Jega, which assisted in no small way in carrying out their assignments in their different states.
