By Abdul Alli
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has discarded the possibilities of using electronics voting in the 2019 general elections as being rumoured in some quarters.
The Chairman of the commission, Prof. Mahmud Yakubu, made this known yesterday at a press briefing after a three-day conference on “The Use of Technology in Elections” in Abuja.
Prof. Yakubu maintained rather than electronic voting, the electoral umpire would deploy technology in the collation and transmission of results which he noted ensures accuracy much more than the manual method.
The chairman emphasised the need for citizens’ protection during the voting, collation and transmission of results, saying with technology, elections are now in peoples hands and not easy to manipulate.
In his statement, election management bodies from the west and southern African countries are willing to take advantage of the opportunities offered by technological innovations to improve the credibility of the electoral process and to enhance the sanctity of the ballot and integrity of electoral outcomes.
, Yakubu added that the application of technological innovations in the electoral process should be viewed as a facilitator rather than a “magic bullet” for the delivery of good and credible elections by adopting simple, appropriate, cost-effective and sustainable technologies.
The president of electoral commissions of southern African countries, SADC and chairperson of the electoral commission of Namibia, Notemba Tjipueja, whose country was the first in Africa to embark on electronic voting noted that the deployment of technology aids efficiency.
She explained that with the electronic voting system, no ballot boxes are used, thus reducing the tendencies of voters to interfere in any way with the voting process.
