As an aftermath of the recommendations by stakeholders on improving the country’s electoral process, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has said that Permanent Voters’ Cards (PVC) would no longer serve as the sole means of identification on election day.
INEC Chairman Prof. Mahmood Yakubu disclosed this Thursday in Abuja at the last quarterly consultative meeting with the Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs).
The meeting centred on detailed issues of planning and reform arising from the experience of the 2023 general election.
“Those who already have the PVCs can still use them to vote, but going forward, computer-generated slips issued to the voter or even downloaded from the Commission’s website will suffice for voter accreditation,” he said.
Yakubu said: “This will not only save cost, it will also eliminate the issues around the collection of PVCs and the diabolical practice of buying up the cards from voters in order to disenfranchise them.”
The INEC chair further said having released its 524-page main report on the election, a copy of which is available on its website, the commission has consulted widely internally with its own officials and externally with all major stakeholders.
He said out of the 142 recommendations, 86 require administrative action by the Commission, saying it was therefore pertinent that the commission engages first with RECs because of their frontline role in the implementation of the recommendations.
The INEC boss said with the conclusion of five major off-cycle governorship elections and nine out of 21 bye-elections since the 2023 general election, “this is the most appropriate time for us to commence the implementation of the recommendations arising from our review of the general election.”
Yakubu also said this was “followed by 48 recommendations that require action by a variety of stakeholders, including security agencies, mobile network operators, statutory bodies, political parties, transport unions, civil society organisations and the media.”
On the legal review, he said there were eight recommendations that require legislative action by the National Assembly, adding that the presentation would be made to the Joint Committee of the Senate and House of Representatives on Electoral Matters as they continue to deliberate on electoral reform.
INEC also said those who already have the PVCs can still use them to vote, noting however that the introduction of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) had made the review imperative.
“On the legal review, there are eight recommendations that require legislative action by the National Assembly. Very soon, the Commission will make a presentation to the Joint Committee of the Senate and House of Representatives on Electoral Matters as they continue to deliberate on electoral reform.
“Among the major highlights of the Commission’s recommendations is the imperative of legal clarity in result management, with regard to manual transfer versus the electronic transmission of results,” it added.
On the need for those on election duty to exercise their franchise, he said: “The review report also contains recommendations on early/special voting for the millions of Nigerians who do not vote at the moment on account of the roles they play during elections such as INEC officials, security personnel, ad hoc staff, observers and journalists who are deployed outside the places where they registered to vote.
“There are also recommendations in support of Diaspora voting, the unbundling of the Commission with the establishment of electoral offences tribunal and a separate agency to handle the registration and regulation of political parties. Similarly, the Commission will step up action on voter access and distribution to polling units.
“As a matter of urgency, the Commission also intends to develop protocols for the cleaning up of the voters’ register in collaboration with other agencies such as the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) and the National Population Commission (NPC).
“Other areas of reform include advocacy for affirmative action for greater participation of under-represented groups, a more robust voter education and public communication to combat fake news and misinformation.
“Furthermore, the Commission intends to review the mechanisms for a more effective implementation of agreements on logistics with the transport unions and other service providers by consolidating on the recent experience with early deployment and commencement of elections in the recent Ondo state governorship election,” he further disclosed.
