- INEC has released guidelines for conduct
of 2019 general elections
- The commission said Smart Card Readers
(SCRs) and Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs)
would be used for the forthcoming elections
- Electoral umpire also noted that presiding
officers would also create a separate queue
for People Living With Disabilities (PWDs)
The Independent National Electoral
Commission (INEC) has released the
regulations and guidelines for the
conduct of the general elections.
Legit.ng reports that a 33 pages
document obtained by the News Agency
of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Monday,
January 14, said Smart Card Readers
(SCRs) and Permanent Voter Cards
(PVCs) would be used for the
forthcoming elections.
It was gathered that the document
revealed that no person shall be allowed
to vote at any polling unit/voting point
settlement/voting point other than the
one at which his/her name appears in
the register of voters.
“Voting shall be in accordance with the
Continuous Accreditation and Voting
System (CAVS) procedures as specified in
these regulations and guidelines, the
election manual and any other guide
issued by the commission.
“No person shall be allowed to vote at
any polling unit/voting point settlement/
voting point other than the one at which
his/her name appears in the register of
voters and he/she presents his/her
permanent voter’s card to be verified by
the Smart Card Reader (SCR), or as
otherwise determined by the
commission.â€
It added that each voter shall cast his/
her vote in person at the polling unit/
voting point settlement/voting point
where he/she registered or was
assigned, in the manner prescribed by
the commission.
It also stated that separate queue shall
be created between men and women,
where the culture does not allow the
mingling of men and women.
It added that Presiding Officers would
also create a separate queue for People
Living With Disabilities (PWDs).
According Section 10 (b) of the
guidelines, “accreditation and voting
shall commence at 8.00am and close at
2:00pm, provided that all voters already
on the queue by 2:00pm shall be allowed
for accreditation and voting.
“The accreditation process shall
comprise reading of the Permanent
Voter’s Card (PVC) and authentication of
the voter’s fingerprint using the SCR;
checking of the Register of Voter.â€
Section 11 (v) of the guidelines also
requested a voter to remove his/her cell
phone or any photographic device
before proceeding to voting cubicle.
Also section 11(c) stated that “where a
voter’s PVC is read but the name of the
voter is not on the Register of Voters,
APO II shall refer the voter to the PO or
APO (VP) who shall politely request the
voter to leave the polling unit.â€
Section 11(d) also states that: “In the
event that the PVC fails to be read by the
Smart Card Reader, the APO I shall refer
the voter to the PO or APO (VP) who
shall politely request the voter to leave
the polling unit.’’
Subsection (e) added that “where a
voter’s PVC is read and the SCR shows
the details of another person, rather
than the details of the cardholder as
printed on the PVC, the APO I shall:
“(i) Refer the voter to APO II to confirm
that the details of the voter in the
Register of Voters correspond to those on
the PVC;
“(ii) APO II if satisfied that the holder of
the card is on the Register of Voters,
shall record the phone number of the
voter in the appropriate box on the
Register of Voters; and
“(iii) Proceed with the accreditation of
the voter.
“(f) In all cases from 11(b) to 11(e), the
Presiding Officer shall fill the
appropriate forms in the PU booklet and
make a report.
“Affected voters in 11(b) and 11(e)
qualify to be issued ballot papers after
consultation with Polling Agents.†(NAN)
Meanwhile, Legit.ng had previously
reported that sixty-one political parties
under the group, Inter-Party Advisory
Committee (IPAC), are taking the
Independent National Electoral
Commission (INEC) to court over the
draft guidelines for the 2019 general
elections.
