CHINWE OGBUKA writes on INEC’s readiness to commence the distribution of Permanent Voters Cards (PVCs) and the commission’s determination to right the Anambra shortcomings in Ekiti and Osun states.
Between March 7 and 17, 2014 two major activities preparatory to Ekiti and Osun governorship elections will take place in the states. First, from March 7-9, all eligible voters in the two states are expected to proceed to their respective polling units where INEC officials will be on hand to attend to them.
The commission has devoted these days to verify the registration status of all registered voters in the states and distribute Permanent Voters Cards (PVCs), which will be used for identification during the governorship elections in those states this year and the general elections next year.
The registered voters are expected to take along the Temporary Voters Cards (TVCs) issued them during the 2011 registration exercise. At a recent stakeholders meeting in the two states , the commission took the participants through to the several processes of producing PVCs for eligible voters and explained why some people, though registered in 2011 will not have PVCs.
During the period, the list of voters, who successfully passed through the de-duplication process carried out using Automated Fingerprints Identification System (AFIS) and the Business Rules for the production of PVCs shall be displayed at each PU. Also, their PVCs shall be available for collection immediately after verification. The processes of collection will be clearly spelt out by the commission.
Other important dates marked out for a crucial activity relating to the election are March 12-17, 2014 when the commission will embark on the Continuous Voters Registration (CVR) in the two states. The CVR is a unique opportunity provided by the commission to allow eligible voters who wish to participate in the governorship elections and indeed that of 2015, and who did not register in 2011, to have their names in the register of voters.
The CVR will take place at the Registration Area Centres (RACs) and those whose names did not appear in the register are advised to come out for fresh data capture.
It is pertinent to observe that since after the 2011 polls, the register of voters have been undergoing several processes to improve its quality and ensure a flawless register which is the basis for a free, fair and acceptable election.
Register optimization process started with consolidation of data collected during registration exercise. In Ekiti for instance, a total of 764,726 registered during the nationwide exercise. After consolidation of data de-duplication process using AFIS, to remove multiple registration the figure came to 688,950. This number still went through Business Rules for printing of PVCs and it further reduced to 657,256 which is the number of valid Register of voters in the state. It is worthy to note that the major business rule which applies in the printing of PVC, is that the registrant must have at least two fingerprints and “any registrant with less than two fingerprints does not get a PVC.”
For Osun, the same process was followed where a total of 1,353,393 people registered during the exercise. However, when AFIS was carried out to eliminate multiple registrations, the figure came down to 1,318,120. Finally, when the figure was subjected to business rules, the figure further reduced to 1,256,569 and this is the number that have their PVCs ready.
Based on the importance of credible register of voters and to avoid the recurring problems of register of voters in previous elections, the commission devoted time to clean up the two states ’ registers. Speaking to the participants at the Stakeholders meeting recently, INEC Chairman, Prof. Attahiru Jega said the primary objective of the meeting was to keep the political parties abreast of preparations for the governorship elections.
The meeting was also an opportunity for the commission to brief the citizens on the commission’s effort to sanitise its activities since 2010, as well as its preparations for 2015.
In apparent display of transparency, the commission made available copies of register of voters to all political parties participating in the governorship election months before the election. The aim of this is for political parties to “interrogate and scrutinize” the register and raise any issue(s) with the register so that the commission could clear those anomalies before the elections.
The commission is taking these measures to avoid a repeat of previous elections, including the Anambra incident where the commission was blamed for the inadvertent action of the electorate who did not avail themselves of the opportunity provided by the commission to update their voter register. It is also determined to get the governorship elections in the two states right and to prove to Nigerians that it is capable of conducting more credible elections in 2015.
Just like the Commission made it clear that it would not use addendum register for Anambra Election, so also in the forthcoming Ekiti and Osun, hence the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) scheduled to hold before the election. It is left for the electorate to avail themselves of this opportunity when it commences.
The CVR is designed to address cases of missing names, register those who just turned 18 years or those who did not register during voter registration in 2011. These categories of people are advised to avail themselves of the opportunity of the CVR to be registered and have their complete data on the electronic register.
While INEC has made adequate arrangement for the CVR, it is appealing to those wishing to vote in the elections to ensure they are on the register to participate in elections in the country. Political parties equally have ample time to mobilize their supporters to play their role in contributing to electoral process by registering and collecting the PVCs.
With Ekiti and Osun as the take-off point for PVCs, Jega urged all eligible voters to get the cards, saying “if you are not on electronic register, you will not have PVC.”
The Commission has also made it possible for electorate to verify their registration status through electronic means. This can be done through a website; http//voters.inecnigeria.org. This is very simple, select your state of registration, type your last name and your full Voter Identification Number (VIN) or the last five (5) digits of your VIN on your handset and send (SMS) to 081-7164-6879 and send.
You will immediately get answer to your phone showing whether your name is on the register or not.
No doubt, the Commission has learnt many lessons from previous elections as well as that of Anambra and it is factoring those lessons into its preparation for the governorship elections in Ekiti and Osun this year.
Although it is the responsibility of the Commission as Election Management Body to produce a credible register that will ensure integrity of election, it needs the cooperation of all critical stakeholders especially the electorate to accomplish this task.
INEC needs the cooperation and support of all, especially that of the good people of Ekiti and Osun states to make its dream a reality. All hands must be on deck to ensure that Ekiti and Osun governorship elections, which is another litmus test for INEC is freer, fairer, peaceful and acceptable by all parties. This is for the attention of Ekiti and Osun electorate!
Ogbuka is the Chief Information Officer at the INEC headquarters in Abuja.
