Ahead of future elections, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has recommended using computer-generated voting slips for those without Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs).
Speaking on Thursday in Abuja during the quarterly consultative meeting with Residents Electoral Commissioners (RECs), INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, said PVCs should no longer be the sole requirement for voting, especially with the introduction of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS).
Yakubu said the commission, having released its 524-page main report on the 2023 general election, has consulted widely with its officials and externally with all major stakeholders.
He 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 INEC to commence the implementation of recommendations arising from her review of the General Election.
Yakubu disclosed that from the internal and external engagements, the Commission has identified 142 recommendations dealing with the general state of preparedness, voter management, voter education and public communication, political parties and candidate management, electoral operations, and logistics management.
Others are election officials and personnel, partnership and collaboration, monitoring and supervision, election technology, voting and result management, election security, electoral offences, and the electoral legal framework.
He said out of the 142 recommendations, 86 require administrative action by the Commission.
“This is 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, there are eight recommendations that require legislative actions 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.
“The Commission also believes that with the introduction of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS), the use of the Permanent Voters’ Cards (PVC) as the sole means of identification for voter accreditation on Election Day should be reviewed.
“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. This will not only save costs; 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.
Early voting for journalists and other essential workers.