By Okodili Ndidi, Abuja

Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is evaluating the technology capacity of eight electronic voting machine manufacturers for electronic voting. No fewer than 40 firms approached the electoral umpire.

INEC National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee, Festus Okoye, said the companies made presentations before the Commission’s Information and Communication Technology (ICT) unit.

In a statement, Okoye assured “the Commission will continue to update Nigerians on the ongoing process in line with its efforts to deepen the use of technology in elections”.

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The statement added: “Following the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) decision to invite the original manufacturers of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) around the world for a virtual or practical demonstration to enable the Commission evaluate the available technology for the purposes of electronic voting, over 40 companies indicated interest and have been invited for a live presentation.

“So far, eight companies have made presentations through a combination of physical and virtual means, before an audience of Commission members, a team of Directors and ICT Staff. Each company had 30 minutes for its presentation while the question and answer session was also allocated 30 minutes.”