‘Why there are hitches in Voter’s card distribution’ – Idowu

How prepared is INEC for the conduct of the 2015 general elections?INEC is very prepared for the 2015 elections. The Commission is very confident and can give a guarantee that on its part it is ready to deliver elections that is not only far better than the one we have in 2011 but would measure […]

How prepared is INEC for the conduct of the 2015 general elections?
INEC is very prepared for the 2015 elections. The Commission is very confident and can give a guarantee that on its part it is ready to deliver elections that is not only far better than the one we have in 2011 but would measure with global best standards.
The commission had been at work for four years. In 2011 when it had only six months or thereabout to prepare for elections after assuming office it conducted elections that is globally acknowledged as having raised the par in Nigerian electoral process compared  to past elections in this country. Having worked in the last four years to consolidate on what was done in 2011 it is certain that the standard of elections in this country would be far higher than what we saw in 2011.

In specific terms what are the concrete measures that INEC has put in place to enhance the successful conduct of the 2015 elections?
Since 2011, INEC has been cleaning up the voter register and eliminating the duplications. As we speak now the commission has a register that is of very high integrity, probably the best on the continent. We have also been finetuning our processes. If you look at the elections that have been conducted it is a clear indication of where we are coming from and where we are going.
For instance, logistics has been a major challenge for elections in Nigeria, but in previous elections 96.5 of the polling units opened by 8am. This was based on some measures we put in place. In Ekiti we achieved 95 percent and in Osun we did better. It is based on the process that we have put in place which is to make our deployment retrieval easier. You can also look at the ways results are being returned; you would remember that in Osun the results were announced by 8pm of the following day.
In Ekiti, the results were announced at midday. These were the outcomes of deliberate processes that were put in motion. Our staffs are being trained; training and retraining of staff have been ongoing for a long time. We did say that we would be using card readers in 2015 and a large portion of those card readers has been delivered in readiness for the elections. There is a greater collaboration and harmony between political parties and the commission now. Previously we were meeting with them quarterly, then it became monthly where we meet and express our processes to them in the hope that they will in turn pass the information on to their members.
We have also been engaging with civil society groups to ensure that we get everybody on board. Security wise we have also been meeting with security agencies and the information-sharing has been on-going with regards to providing a secure environment for elections.

Talking about confidence-building, especially among politicians, how then are they (politicians) always quick to criticize some of your policies such as the one on creation of additional polling units?
You are absolutely right on that and the Commission has also acknowledged that there were some mistakes in our communication on that particular issue of polling units. The mistake is that we had made it public before we called them in for consultation.
But when we called them they saw the logic and reasoning that informed that proposal. Unfortunately, it had become a heated controversy over there.  Even at that the time some of them said they were standing by INEC the issue had become so contentious that it was hijacked by people out there along regional and ethnic lines which made the atmosphere poisoned. The commission then felt that, well, we can suspend it and still go ahead with the 2015 election.

Don’t you think the commission was blackmailed into reversing that decision?
No! It wasn’t blackmail; it was a reasoned decision and the commission gave reasons for the suspension. Number one, the atmosphere was poisoned with heated controversy that was needless. If you take the controversy of the polling units to be desperation for political power then you are heading to a boiling point.
But what the commission eventually does would be determined by the feedback from that field process, not merely by the controversy and accusations. Therefore, when the reports from the Resident Electoral Commissioners came in they were taken and all things considered hence we decided to rest the matter for now and go ahead with other preparations for elections.

What is the current situation with respect to the distribution of permanent voters’ cards?
The commission has conducted this exercise in 23 states and the FCT.  We had challenges in the third phase because the cards were not fully delivered. The commission had to re-schedule and some states were moved out altogether in the third phase. Some states are still accommodated under the third phase and some local governments, like the case of Lagos. The distribution ….. Emotions went high because elections are getting near. Politicians are also seizing ordinary issues to make political capital.
So it gives it a whole new coloration. There is nothing that happened under this phase that did not happen in the other states that we have done. The issue of people who said they have PVC but did not find their names on the voter register, we explained that it was why we instituted the continuous voters register to follow close on the PVC’s distribution.
We explained to the public that we consolidated on the 2011 data. We captured 10 fingerprints but discovered that while processing the data some people whose fingerprints should have ordinarily been captured were not captured. If you remember we had challenges within the first three days of the exercise in 2011 and we announced that those who registered in those early days should come back for registration.
Some did but a large number did not. But what that means was that when the registration was done there fingerprints were not captured. We said that in the permanent voter card we are going to be issuing there is an embedded chip that contains all the biometrics of the holder to capture everything, including the fingerprint.
The reason that is the case is that we want a situation where you will take your card and it will be swiped on a card reader and the data on that card would pop up, including your fingerprint. Then the fingerprint you take to the polling unit you will also put it there to make sure it matches with the one on the chip otherwise you will not be verified to be eligible to vote.
That is why we keep saying you can’t use somebody else’s card except you have to cut the fingerprint to come with it. So we said if you could not find the fingerprint in the data when they were being processed there is no point printing that card; come back and re-register. So all this euphoria was needless. It was not deliberate but a technical issue and it is for this very purpose that we are dropping continuous voter registration.  
The commission has given a commitment that it will stop at nothing to ensure that every eligible voter registers and gets his permanent voter card and arrangements are being made to fulfill this commitment.

What plans has INEC for the conduct of elections in emergency states?
The commission is working hard to ensure that IDPs are allowed to vote and various models are being explored. There has been engagement with very major stakeholders. One heart-warming thing is that even the National Assembly might be considering an amendment of the law and that would go a long way.