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Tag: ‘e-voting

  • Buhari not against e-voting, card readers, says Presidency

    President Muhammadu Buhari has nothing against e-voting and the use of card readers in the upcoming elections, the Presidency said yesterday.

    A statement by the Senior Special Assistant on Media and publicity,  Garba Shehu, rejected the allegations by some opposition politicians and newspaper editorial opinions creating the impression that the President was against its use in coming elections.

    He also said that it was not true that the allegations informed the President’s decision to decline assent to the Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill 2018, thrice.

    He said: “We wish to state in clear and unambiguous terms that the issue of e-voting and use of card readers was never an issue for the President’s decision to decline assent to the Bill.

    “It is equally important that this issue was not raised either by the Executive or the Legislature in the recent reviews. Moreover, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) adoption of e-voting reforms is enshrined in the 2015 Amendment Act to the Electoral Reform Act. Card reader is therefore a settled matter.” he said

    According to him, the President’s recent decision to decline assent to the Bill has no effect whatsoever on INEC’s use of card readers.

    He added: “Regrettably, purveyors of ‘fake news’ have been quick to churn out sensational headlines such as that of a leading newspaper, which screamed: “Card Reader in Jeopardy, Buhari Rejects Electoral Act Amendment Bill Again.

    “Unfortunately, most of the critics of the President, including the editorial of a national daily this morning (yesterday) read out parts of the letters, as made available by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on National Assembly Matters, detailing the issues that were of concern to the government.

    “An issue has been raised by the President concerning some ill-prepared and flawed parts of the bill for which corrections needed to be made to allow for his signature.

    “The President wanted engagement with the parliament for the corrections to be effected so that, at the end of the day, both arms of government will be happy with the fact that we have a good electoral law in place.”

    Stressing that the President was not in confrontation with the parliament on the issue, Shehu said: “He has asked his officials to dialogue with the legislature for the corrections to be effected.

    “As for his alleged rejection of the card reader, nothing can be farther from the truth.

    “The President is the country’s number one fan of the card reader. For a candidate who ran three times and “lost” in an electoral environment in which votes were allocated and losers asked to go to court if they felt unhappy, the President knows fully well the role that the card reader played in his emergence in 2015.

    “He has said times without number that he would strengthen and widen its application in the country and this, he is determined to do.

    “Accordingly, we would like to appeal, especially to the media to disregard baseless allegations against the President, even as he puts in his best efforts in working with the National Assembly to give the nation a good electoral law, and in time.

    “The card reader is not in danger of being discarded. It is a sine qua non for credible elections.

    “We appeal to the National Assembly to reconvene as soon as possible to consider and approve the necessary corrections to the amended electoral act.”

     

  • ‘NGF considers e-voting in future elections’

    The Nigerian Governors Forum (NGF) is considering implementation of e-voting in future general elections.

    Jigawa State Acting Governor Barrister Ibrahim Hadejia stated this while fielding question to news men in his residence shortly after the traditional homage Emir of Dutse, Alhaji Nuhu Sunusi paid him.

    He said: “e-voting is very possible as it has been practiced in some nations. Even here in Nigeria, it has happened.

    “The Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) had practiced it in their recent election of their national executives and it was successful.”

    The deputy governor also disclosed the state government released about N30 million as logistic supports to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to expand Permanent Voter Cards (PCVs) registration in the state.

    He explained: “Although the people in the state tried because people registered more than expectation, the government still saw it very important to encourage and support those remaining, especially the ones in the hard-to-reach areas such as Gwaram, Birninkudu, Guri and Kirikasamma local government areas.”

     

  • Olanipekun, Ubani, Adesina back e-voting

    Former Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) president, Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN) has urged the National Assembly to revisit the adoption of electronic voting for the 2019 elections.

    He said the combination of card readers and electronic voting would result in a credible electoral process.

    NBA Vice President Monday Ubani, a former NBA General Secretary, Pastor Dele Adesina and former Lagos Ministry of Justice Permanent Secretary and Solicitor-General, Mr Lawal Pedro (SAN), adopted Olanipekun’s views.

    They spoke at the 2018 Annual Lecture of the Ikeja branch of the National Association of Judicial Correspondents (NAJUC).

    The lecture’s theme was: “The Role of Judiciary, Media in the 2019 Election.”

    Chief Judge of Lagos State Justice Opeyemi Oke; the state Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Kazeem Adeniji; Dr. Muiz Banire (SAN) and the Resident Electoral Commissioner in the state, Mr. Sam Olumekun, who was represented by Mrs Funmi Gaffar, were also at the forum.

    The House of Representatives on May 31 rejected electronic voting for the 2019 polls while considering the Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill, 2018.

    But Olanipekun, the keynote speaker at the event, suggested that electronic voting would be an improvement on the card reader system introduced by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in 2015.

    He said: “Even with the deployment of the card reader in 2015, a lot of electoral malpractices were still identified. The least that Nigerians expect from INEC for the 2019 general elections is the deployment and use of electronic device, which would ensure substantial rig-proof elections.

    “The combination of the use and activation of the card reader and electronic device will assure and reassure Nigerians that INEC is indeed and in fact, prepared for a free and fair election. INEC should not enter any caveat or give any alibi for not being able to deploy the electronic device, which is now in use almost worldwide.”

    Justice Oke, who was represented by Justice Josephine Oyefeso, charged journalists to ensure fair and unbiased coverage of the polls as well as judicial events in order not to heat up the polity.

    She said: “The media acts as a watchdog with a duty to provide unbiased, fair and informative coverage of the 2019 elections.

    “In the last election, it played a vital role as a watchdog in the process of electioneering.”

    She advised that when a case is under judgment the media must ensure that it does not interfere with the fair trial obligation of the court.

    “Accuracy must be our watchword and you must ensure you do not compromise ongoing court proceedings bearing in mind that here are at least two sides to a story.

    “We should not forget that lack of professionalism and objectivity may plunge the nation into crisis, we should never forget the events in Rwanda in 1994 and Kenya in 2007,” the Chief Judge said.

    On his part, Kazeem said Lagos Governor Akinwunmi Ambode is committed to ensuring swift and fair administration of justice.

    Kazeem, who was represented by Mr Idowu Akinwunmi, his Senior Special Adviser (SSA) urged the press to be unbiased in their reportage of national issues.

    “As stakeholders, it is therefore our collective responsibility as a society to continue to uphold fair, independent and accountable institutions to carry out our work in a responsible manner,” he added.

    The event featured the presentation of NAJUC Award of Excellence by Banire to Adeniji, Sylva Ogwemoh SAN, and Mr  Richard Akinnola as well as the launch the association’s quarterly publication ‘Inside Judiciary.’

  • Electorate not ripe for e-voting, says don

    Electorate not ripe for e-voting, says don

    Nigerian electorate is not ripe for electronic voting, a Professor of Political-Economics with Chukwuemeka Odomegwu Ojukwu University (COOU), Igbariam, Anambra, Chubah Ezeh, has said.

    Ezeh told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Enugu yesterday.

    The professor was reacting to the call for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to implement electronic voting system in the country.

    He said if INEC wanted to go digital and be 100 per cent technology-driven, it must provide adequate infrastructure.

    “The issue of basic infrastructure like power supply must be addressed and it must not rely on generating sets. Without proper enlightenment, the average Nigerian is a novice to use electronic device beyond his personal phones,’’ he said.

    INEC, he said, must upgrade its staff to be computer compliant before the introduction of such a system.

    According to him, electronic voting is not bad in itself; it shows a forward progress.

    “But how can one be sure of the result being intact and not subjected to some technological manipulations and cyber interference from external actors and countries just as the case between United States and Russia at present,’’ he said.

  • Is Senate afraid of e-voting?

    Is Senate afraid of e-voting?

    In this piece, Senator Bunmi Adetunmbi, who represented Ekiti North District between 2011 and 2015 in the Senate, urges the National Assembly to consider the imperative of e-voting, instead of using the ‘voice vote’ to arrive at decisions.

    Some of the decision-making methods generally employed by parliaments all over the world include voice voting, rising voting, show of hands, roll call, e-voting. All except for voice voting, provides a means to directly measure the voting pattern of individual members of parliament. Since the inception of the 4 Assembly in 1999, the Senate has largely employed voice voting for practically all of its decisions with the notable exception of constitution amendment bills and rare cases of call for division. Majorly, “Say Aye” and “Say Nay” have been the voting habit, which sometime gets challenged and a call for division demanded by members who feel strongly that the Senate President, based on his discretionary interpretation of the relative decibel level of response, has not dispensed his judgement fairly.

    In his epochal and widely publicized legislative agenda, Senate President Bukola Saraki identified legislative best practices as one of the pillars of a comprehensive agenda at reforming the legislative business of government. Under this pillar, he promised an E-Parliament “using ICT in the regular conduct of legislative activities of the Senate, such that modern information communication tools will be used across the activities of the National Assembly” He went further to specifically declare that “the Senate will make e-voting a regular feature of Senate legislative business. The adoption of E-Voting is to clear any iota of doubt on the credibility of the voting process in the Senate. The method will ensure transparency and accountability thereby restoring the credibility of the voting activities in the system.” These are laudable initiatives and Dr. Bukola Saraki should be commended for offering these radial steps at reforming the way the business of the Senate is conducted.

    The recent passage of the harmonization report on the order of elections, which led to a walk out by 10 senators, brings to the fore the issue of transparency and public accountability in National assembly voting process. One wonders why despite the promised voting reforms of Senator President Bukola Saraki, some of the recent sensitive decisions of the Senate have been dogged with controversy and protests by aggrieved Senators that the Presiding Officer is undemocratic and nursing a hidden agenda. This is a serious allegation that could have been addressed if the proposed e-parliament envisaged by Senator Saraki had been implemented.

    Parliamentary vote by roll call to enumerate those that say “yea” or “nay”, on specific issues provides verifiable and empirical record on how parliament voted. It enables the general public, constituents and political parties to know how their representatives voted on issues of interest and concern to them. This form of transparent and open balloting system is considered the best for any deliberative and parliamentary assembly that is accountable and responsible to a constituency. Although Rule 73 of the Senate Proceedings provides for dissenting members to call for division to call for recorded votes, but under the proposed e-voting reform of Senate President Saraki, this should have been the rule of voting rather than the exception. I believe this is the anomaly that the laudable declaration of Senator Saraki intended to address and reverse at the onset of his Senate Presidency in June 2015. Unfortunately, this is yet to happen in the eighth assembly.

    There were many instances during the 7th Senate where I served, that I wished my choices on major issues were placed on record beyond the untraceable “Yeas or Nays have it” that characterized most of the decisions of that era. Only during constitution amendments and a call for division by Senator Babajide Omoworare of Osun State did I recall the use of recorded voting during my four-year tenure of 2011-2015. Calling for voting history of representatives to know their positions on important parliamentary debates is impossible as a result of this casual style of voting. This makes it practically impossible to assess the quality of representation and how much parliamentarians toe party lines on policies and electoral promises. Voice voting, in my view, should be limited to simple decisions such as adoption of record of proceedings and the likes. Other serious business of the parliament such as resolution of motions, passage of bills should be resolved through recorded voting.

    For a parliamentarian, the duty of representation, in my view, is superior to that of law making because you have to be elected first as a representative before being law maker, in other words, without being a representative, you cannot be a law maker. Therefore, as representative of constituencies, senators have the primary and sacred duty of advocating the priorities of their constituents and constantly balancing local and national interests, and providing the constituents feedback on the choices he or she makes on their behalf. This is the soft underbelly of democracy and can only be measured if voting records of representatives are recorded and open for scrutiny and compliance trail by those whose mandate he or she carries and the party that gave it expression. Part of the reasons for the current poor public perception of the National Assembly is largely due to poor understanding of their roles and the value attached to it. The e-voting reform initiative proposed by Senator Bukola Saraki, if implemented, will give the media more work to do by creating a wider agenda of issue-based discussion on the deliberations of parliament and specific roles of individual parliamentarians and clusters of partisan and multiparty interest groups. This way, we can further build public confidence in the institution and further demonstrate its value to our democracy as well as justify the cost of running parliament in a democracy.

    This is why Senator Saraki’s e-voting reform must be revisited to address a critical need for transparency in our legislative practice, boost the peoples’ confidence in the parliament and deepen our democratic culture. The public needs to be provided with relevant information to measure the quality of representation in the legislative chambers through transparent and responsible accounting of parliamentary votes. This is why, as much as practicable, voice voting should never be allowed to become the popular method for serious decision making in the legislative chambers. To the extent that it veils the voting identity of elected representatives, voice voting is fundamentally flawed and is a form of political corruption that should be discouraged in taking important decisions in the National Assembly. As it has played out in the current issue of the bill on the amendment of the timetable for the 2019 elections, e-voting would have established attendance, whether or not quorum was formed and how members wish to vote. Adoption of a voice call in such a sensitive issue is susceptible to controversies of the interpretational judgement of the Presiding Officer with the undesirable potential of promoting over time, the erosion of trust and confidence in the quality of decision emanating from leader of the deliberative assembly. Worse still, it helps to mask the face, muffle the voice and veil the choice made by each representative, this can promote indolence and non-transparent representation. It reduces public accountability on parliamentary decision to unacceptable minimum and provides undesirable cover for truancy on the part of some representatives.

    On the other hand, any other form of decision-making that maintains the record of individual choices provides transparent measure of the representative’s quality of decision making. It becomes easy to know how the choices made by each representative hurt or promote the interest of their constituents, supports or undermines the policy preferences of their political parties. Recorded decision-making tools also promote the emergence of ideological differentiation within the various parties in the assembly and brings into full public glare what side of issues their representatives stand on major social and economic policy debates.

    Luckily for us, our Senate and House of Representatives chambers have fully installed, functional e-voting systems which can easily be put to use to put names to votes and give specific identity to decisions in our National Assembly. It must be emphasized that e-voting is just another form of recorded voting that can promote decision integrity in NASS and make our Chambers truly hallowed. It follows logically that even if the e-voting system is not employed for whatever reason, manual recording is very possible, roll call, division and several other manual forms parliamentary vote recording exist that can be utilised.

    To improve on the quality of legislative representation and promote transparency and accountability at this critical stage of our democratic evolution, our Senate and House of Representatives must move away from the convenient but controversial voice voting to recorded voting. Every legislator should be identifiable with and account for the choices he or she makes on behalf of the general public, their constituents and the political parties that gave them electoral platform. It is on this score and in the interest of building the institution of parliament, that Senator Bukola Saraki should not abandon his original commitment to e-voting and thereby giving room for imputation of wrong personal motive or partisan interpretation to his role as Senate President. He owes it a duty to his tenure not to allow  drift of a noble mission, and in his own words, he owes the public a legacy that will “clear any iota of doubt on the credibility of the voting process in the Senate.” There is still time for him to make good this ennobling reform.

  • Senate okays e-voting, card reader for elections

    Senate okays e-voting, card reader for elections

    THE use of electronic voting (e-Voting) system, electronic transmission of election results and the deployment of Electronic Card Reader (ECR) were some of the amendments to the Electoral Act, 2010, passed by the Senate yesterday.

    With the amendments, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) will, beginning from 2019 general elections, electronically transmit election results to collation centers.

    The passage of the bill followed the consideration of the report of the Senate Committee on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on a Bill for an Act to amend the Electoral Act No. 6, 2010 and for other related matters (SB 231 and SB 234).

    The bill has provision for the use of e-Voting by INEC during future elections, use of ECR and INEC power to modify the voting process if there is a challenge.

    The Senate also approved a provision to enable INEC transmit the result of elections electronically in an encrypted and secured manner to prevent hacking.

    To address the incident that happened in Kogi State, during the last governorship election, the amended Electoral Act provides that if a candidate dies before results of elections are declared, the results will not only remain valid but belong to the political party that lost its candidate.

    It also added that in such a scenario, the INEC should suspend the elections for 21 days to allow the affected political party conduct fresh primaries to choose a new candidate.

    The Bill also gives political parties power to adopt direct or indirect primaries in choosing their flag bearers, while qualification or disqualification of candidates for elections will be solely based on the Constitution.

    In his comments after the adoption of the report, Senate President Bukola Saraki, thanked his colleagues for a job well done and expressed optimism that the Bill would further improve the nation’s electoral system and also contribute to good governance.

    Saraki said: “Distinguished colleagues, let me thank all of you for this job well done. I want to particularly thank the members of the Committee on INEC and particularly the former chairman of the Committee, Abubakar Kyari, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege and all the members of the committee who have worked very hard to ensure the passage of this very important bill which addresses our electoral process and goes on to strengthen our democracy.

    “We have touched on new areas which I believe will improve the credibility of our elections and by so doing, definitely improve our democracy and good governance.

    “Most importantly, I think, are some of the new sections we have added, in the area of technology, the smart card reader, and particularly the area of collation which has been an area of great concern.

    “Collation of results after the polling units and some of the additions we put on the electronic way by which the compilation of results can be done, I think will go a long way to reduce some of the irregularities we have seen before.

    “This is a great work you have been able to put together today and I want to commend everybody. I am also happy that we have passed the amendments very early. My concern has always been that if we don’t do it now, it will get more difficult as we get close to the 2019 elections.

    “We hope that with this Bill that we have passed, very soon, we will sit together with the House of Representatives to be able to get the copy to the President for assent.

    “I think when signed into law, it will enable INEC to have something to work early enough. I think what we have done today will really put our electoral law among the best that we have and it will go a long way in improving our electoral process,” Saraki said.

  • Re: e-Voting, e-crisis at MAPOLY

    I read, with nostalgia, a report featured in CAMPUSLIFE section of The Nation, titled: “e-Voting, e-crisis at MAPOLY”.

    Ordinarily, I wouldn’t have joined issues with the writer, but in order not to mislead members of the public and not to put Moshood Abiola Polytechnic (MAPOLY) in Abeokuta, Ogun State, in bad light, I am writing this rejoinder based on the fact that I was involved in the entire process. Therefore, it becomes imperative for me to iron out the grey areas in the write-up.

    First, the Friday, March 10, 2017 election was the first time the e-voting would be used for Students’ Union election in MAPOLY. This was made possible by the recent amendments made to the union’s constitution. No doubt, this is a welcome development and definitely, it may witness some teething problems which I am sure would be improved upon in subsequent elections.

    However, it is unfair to indicate the interest of the school management in a particular candidate as events leading to, and activities on the election day showed that the students (through the electoral commission) were the ones conducting the affairs of the process. If indeed, as written in the report, the ‘management’s candidate’ won, why is he yet to be sworn into office?

    The rector, from what we gathered, is interested in things being done rightly and in line with the provisions of the constitution.

    The problems surrounding the six-digit pin should be put on the door steps of the ‘biased’ electoral commission, which should have given the full statistical analysis of the election viz-a-viz total number of voters, total votes cast, total void votes (if any), accredited voters, etc before the pronouncement of results.

    The writer painted a picture of massive breakdown of law and order, which was not the case as we, the ‘aggrieved electorate’, only indicated our displeasure through comments made to the school Public Relations Officer (PRO), security personnel and Dean of Students’ Affair (DSA). It must be on record that all these happened at the election venue and nowhere else.

    In addition, the constitution of the Students’ Union provides for a Students’ Union Electoral Petition Committee which is currently addressing petitions written by some aspirants, a result of which (as stipulated in the constitution) will still get to the academic board.

    The report also added that some results were undeclared. This is not true. All the 10 positions contested for had their results declared (announced) by the electoral committee chairman on that day.

    Finally, it is criminal to make spurious allegations against a management which has shown its desire to continue to improve the status of the institution, and is currently grappling with its transition status to a University of Science and Technology.

     

    Olatunde is a Mass Communication student, MAPOLY

  • E-voting, e-crisis at MAPOLY

    E-voting, e-crisis at MAPOLY

    Nothing was expected to go wrong with the exercise because it was conducted through e-voting.  But the Students’ Union Government (SUG) election of the Moshood Abiola Polytechnic (MAPOLY) in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, ended in stalemate following allegations of irregularities. FESTUS OGUN reports.

    IT is known as e-voting and it is believed to be the panacea for rigging. It has worked elsewhere, including some higher institutions. But, last Friday, it failed at the Moshood Abiola Polytechnic (MAPOLY) in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, during the Students’ Union Government (SUG) election.

    Amid expectations, students went to the poll to elect their leaders. But, it all ended  in stalemate when a row broke out in the middle of the process. Winners could not be declared.

    The Students’ Union Electoral Committee (SUELECO) Chairman, Oluwadoyinsola Olaibi, who attempted to announce the results, was pelted with stones when he could not give the number of accredited voters.

    Before the exercise conducted at the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Resources Centre, the electoral committee unveiled the guidelines. It said the number of accredited voters would be released before the election. But it failed to do so, fuelling students’suspicion about its transparency.

    An accredited student, he said, would be issued a six-digit pin number that would enable him to log on to the ICT Centre’s database to vote.

    As the election progressed, students demanded the disclosure of number of accredited voters. In response, CAMPUSLIFE gathered that the Acting Director of Students’ Affairs (DSA), Akin Ajayi, stormed the ICT Centre at about 3pm to stop the voting. This sparked a protest.

    As the demonstration was going on, the school’s Chief Security Officer, Adekunle Adekoya, allegedly slapped Halimot Yekinni, a female student of Mass Communication Department, who wanted to vote.

    Students defied Ajayi’s order and trooped to the ICT building to vote. The long queue of students waiting to vote did not reduce, despite the Acting DSA’s directive terminating the process.

    The action of Department of State Services (DSS) operatives deployed to maintain security during the election was said to have aggravated the situation. A student was allegedly manhandled by the operatives and the phone of another was seized. The protesters marched on some offices on the campus.

    The Acting DSA, it was learnt, accused Ogun State chapter of the National Association Nigerian Students (NANS) officials of instigating the protest. Security agents sent  NANS Chairman, Olawale Balogun, who led a delegation to monitor the election, out of the campus. More students joined the protest in solidarity with the NANS officials.

    As the protesters moved round the campus, the electoral committee members, Ajayi, Students’ Affairs Officer Ayobami Oderinde and the school counsellor, Dr Rotimi Olukoya, gathered at a location close to the ICT building at 4pm to announce the results in the presence of security agents, comprising the DSS, Observation Post Corps Services (OPCS) and Man O’ War.

    The students were unsatisfied with results of four of the 10 offices contested for anounced by Olaibi. They pelted him with stones and other weapons. The security operatives hurriedly surrounded Olaibi and took him away.

    Ajayi stopped the announcement and directed other SUELECO members to return to the ICT Centre.

    Two hours later, Olaibi and other members of the committee came out of the ICT building to announce more results. The school’s Public Relations Executive, Sulaimon Adebiyi, was invited to pacify the students.

    Student Representatives’Council (SRC) Deputy Clerk Jamiu Ogunbamowo asked for total number of accredited voters before any results could be released.This, Jamiu said, was the only way to pacify students.

    Without doing that, Olaibi went ahead to announce results for the remaining six offices. Students became more agitated and disrupted the announcement. They said they would not accept the results, if the total number of registered and accredited voters was not declared.

    Olaibi spirited back into the ICT building before he could anounce all the results.

    CAMPUSLIFE gathered that Olaibi was  told not to give the number of accredited voters and pins issued to the students. This, it was gathered, was to save time, because the exercise started behind schedule.

    While addressing students, Ajayi said: “The election started behind schedule. As far as we are concerned, the results needed to be announced on time. But, protesters prevented the announcement of results when they started hurling stones at members of the electoral committee.

    “We have the responsibility to save the lives of SUELECO members. We will need to complete the announcement of results at a later date. If anybody decides to stone us, then everybody will go home and we will paste the results on all notice boards, where we can all go and check them there. Members of the electoral committee are students too. We cannot stand there and watch them being stoned.”

    The undeclared results showed that the three presidential contenders – Babatunde Adegoke, Olusola Kosoko and Ahmed Fakunmoju – garnered 705, 532 and 104 votes.

    Contenders for Vice President, Daniel Obanla and Sulaimon Adeyemi, had 721 and 598 votes; Qudus Rahman and Tijani Mustapha, who contested for General Secretary, polled 794 and 515.

    The results for other positions were declared, but CAMPUSLIFE gathered that the total votes cast were more than the number of pins issued to the students. It was also gathered that the pins were more than the accredited voters.

    Olukoya said he released the number of votes cast, adding that they were more than the number of accredited voters.

    A document obtained from a SUELECO member who did not want his name mentioned, indicated that 1,298 voters were accredited, while 1,318 pins were issued to the students.

    Contacted on telephone, Olaibi admitted that there were discrepancies in the number of accredited voters and the number of pins. He said: “It was after the election that we discovered that the number of pins issued out were more than the number of accredited voters. Some people may have received multiple pins for voting.”

    But, the results showed that 1,341 votes were cast for the president, while 1,319 were cast for the vice president. These figures did not tally with those contained in the SUELECO document obtained by CAMPUSLIFE, indicating that the process might have been fraught with inconsistencies.

    It was gathered that further announcement of results was suspended at Olukoya’s instance.

    The committee declined to comment on the next step.

    The students described the process as subversive and fraudulent, accusing management of attempting to undermine the process to pave the way for the emergence of its favoured candidates. They vowed to reject the institution’s plan  to foist its candidates on them.

  • NBA election: E-voting will curb rigging – Alegeh

    NBA election: E-voting will curb rigging – Alegeh

    The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) president Augustine Alegeh (SAN) has said the body introduced electronic voting and universal suffrage to end rigging and inducement of voters.

    He said e-voting, to be used in NBA’s election next week, would check the practice of branch chairmen selecting lawyers and inducing them to vote for a particular candidate.

    With the new system, Alegeh said, all lawyers could conveniently vote over the internet from anywhere in the world rather than gathering at a single location.

    “It is instructive to note that other professional associations have been using e-voting for years. We are the last who want to take advantage of what is available to us technologically. We cannot tie ourselves in the past when we have technological developments,” he said.

    On complaints that some names could not be found on the voters’ register, Alegeh explained that some branches did not follow the association’s constitutional provisions on payment of dues and practicing fees which qualifies a lawyer to vote.

    “We asked the bank to give us the list of those who have paid practicing fees by March 31. The constitution says lawyers must pay bar practicing fees and branch dues before they can vote. Branch chairmen were asked to send list of those who have paid practicing fees along with statements of account, but some resisted it.

    “The constitution provides that all monies due to the branches must be paid into the branch account. A lot of branches do not have bank statements to back up the list they sent.

    “Some branches said sometimes lawyers paid during meetings, or that they used some of the money for entertainment. But we have said that this system must work,” Alegeh said.

    The NBA president, at a briefing in Lagos, urged lawyers to update their records on the website to be able to vote, adding that close to 15,000 people had updated their records, while close to 40,000 lawyers had paid their fees.

    Alegeh denied that he was working to impose a candidate as NBA president, saying although he was entitled to vote, he did not anoint one nor can he compel all lawyers to vote for a particular candidate.

    He said his role was only to set up an electoral committee and provide it with support services.

    Alegeh said the crisis in some branches, such as Ikeja, was caused by the refusal to comply with a constitutional provision that where a candidate has held two NBA offices in the past five years, they must wait for five years before contesting for another office at the branch level, or 10 years at the national level.

    The senior advocate vowed to ensure a credible poll, adding that NBA has invited the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the National Democratic Institute of America and Microsoft to verify the system and result.

    “Our hope is that when we finish this election, Nigeria will use this method for the next general elections. I have a pact with the association to deliver a good election. No threats will make us do what is wrong. The only time I am worried is when I am wrong, so I won’t be intimidated by threats that NBA will disintegrate,” he said.

    On lawsuits against NBA, Alegeh said dissatisfied candidates ought to appeal to the NBA Dispute Resolution Committee first, in line with Section 16 of the NBA Constitution before going to court.

  • NCC to deploy more broadband facilities for e-voting

    NCC to deploy more broadband facilities for e-voting

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is thinking towards the idea of introducing electronic voting in subsequent general elections in the country.

    The electoral body INEC noted that the idea, which was yet to get the backing of law could take the electoral process to a higher level.

    This is as the Nigerian Communications (NCC) said it was planning to deploy more broadband facilities that would crate necessary environment for the adoption of electronic voting processes in the country.

    Prof. Umar Danbatta, the Executive Vice Chairman of NCC stated this Wednesday at the 12th public lecture of The Electoral Institute (TEI), INEC, with the theme of the lecture was “ICT and Electronic Voting: Issues and Challenges”.

    Danbatta said that the NCC was planning to deploy broadband facilities, in virtually all major cities and rural areas of the country.

    The NCC Vice Chairman said that the action was in-line with the country’s National Broadband Plan.

    He said that e-voting would not only improve on the efficacy and the confidence in the Nigeria’s electoral process but would also translate into free, fair and credible elections.

    Danbatta observed that the existing paper ballot system of voting was ‘susceptible to human errors and influences.’

    This according to him led INEC to the use of ICT platforms for biometric registration and authentication prior to voting during the 2015 election, “which significantly improved the democratic process.”

    “However, during these elections, card readers generally failed to verify fingerprints. This is attributed to the ICT platforms.

    “To address this from our part, the NCC, We have rolled out eight points agenda. Significant is the provision of efficient/effective access to ICT platforms.

    “These include facilitating Broadband Penetration; Improving Quality of Service and; Promoting ICT Innovation and investment Opportunities.

    ”The need to foster methods that will address problems in our voting system has led TEI to explore e-voting which depends on ICT platforms for its operations,” Danbatta said.

    He said that the next general elections of the country would depend heavily on the infrastructure that NCC was putting in place.

    He added that the infrastructure needed to support the adoption of electronic voting in Nigeria was at “formatic stage.”

    “That is why government is interested in deploying more and more infrastructure, including improving on what we have on ground.”

    Speaking, the Chairman of INEC, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu said it was commendable that African countries were adopting the use of technology to improve on their electoral processes.

    Yakubu was represented by a National Commissioner of INEC, Hajia Amina Zakari, said this had reduced the level of tension and crisis in their elections.

    “The use of technology had made elections more acceptable and reduced post election conflicts.

    “However, if you are not careful in the use of technology, the process can be truncated.

    “So we need to come to middle class and that called for a lecture like this to share experiences of other countries where ICT has been deployed successfully to improve on electoral processes.”

    Yakubu was optimistic that the lecture would add value to the country’s electoral process.