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Tag: electronic

  • NCS insists electronic voting is practicable

    NCS insists electronic voting is practicable

    With  few days to the general elections and the possibility of most voters getting disenfanchised as a result of inability to collect the permanent voter card (PVC), the Nigerian Computer Society (NCS) has urged the Independent Electoral Commission (INEC) and the Federal Government to look in the direction of electronic voting.

    NCS said if e-Voting is adopted, it will not only be cost efficient, but also  erase whatever doubt the electorate might have concerning  the electoral umpire in terms of its being  biased.

    Its President, Prof. David Adewumi who spoke with The Nation said there is no basis why the country should not adopt e-voting which the  Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE) have used a couple of time with great success.

    He said: “Our position in the NCS remains the same. We are ripe for e-voting. When you look at e-voting, it is no longer rocket  science. The major requirement is the infrastructure, I mean  the information technology (IT) equipment, capacity  building. Then INEC must provide the purposeful leadership  that is required to deploy the technology and consequently, e-voting. I think that is all that is needed. There no space  science to that.”

    On the low level of computer literacy and personal computers (PC) ownership in  the country, the NCS chief said it is not true that the level of computer literacy in the country is  alarming.

    According to him, the old people in the villages use mobile phones, adding that keyboard of the mobile phone is even smaller than the  ones on the PC. “Yes, the old people in the village now use mobile phones. So, what is it about low level of computer  literacy you are talking about? The key board for the mobile phone is smaller than that of the PC. I think what is required is determination to ensure it succeeds,” Prof Adewumi said.

    Namibia became the first African country to adopt the e-voting technology with the Southern African country using it during its election last year. The e-Voting Machines, or EVMs, were acquired at a cost of 24 million Namibia dollars from an Indian company and according to the company, they are equipped with technology that is designed to eliminate flaws and address the scepticism of some political parties questioning the transparency of that country’s electoral umpire.

    The machines have features such as candidates’ photos, political parties together with other information next to the casting button. Voters will just have to click on their preferred candidate or party during elections to vote.

    It would also berecalled that India successfully used half-a-million EVMs of the same type during its 2009 general elections. The EVM was used to choose 96 members of Namibia’s National Assembly and one of nine presidential candidates, ranging from the left-wing Economic Freedom Fighters to the white minority Republican Party. About 1.2 million Namibians reportedly cast their  ballots at nearly 4,000 electronic voting stations across  the country.

  • Why UPP is championing Electronic voting system – Okorie

    Why UPP is championing Electronic voting system – Okorie

    In this interview with Associate Editor, Sam Egburonu, Chief Chekwas Okorie, the National Chairman of United Progressives Party ( UPP) explains why his party is passionate over adoption of Electronic Voters System. He also spoke on other national issues. Excerpts

    2015 is around the corner and already there is controversy over the way INEC’s is distributing the Permanent Voters Register. How would you assess INEC preparations for the 2015 elections?

    My personal assessment is that the present leaders of INEC is doing better in conducting elections than all the INEC leaderships I have witnessed in this country. INEC is doing better. It is doing better in terms of preparation, in terms of carrying all the stakeholders along. They are also trying to respond to criticisms by attempting some changes to make their performance better. So, there has been some noticeable improvement. Unfortunately, the Anambra election that took place in November 3, just last year, was a disaster; such a disaster that it cast so much doubt. It was as if the commission had done so many kilometres backwards. I think that also jolted them to some realities and they came back to do something better. We saw improvement on the Ekiti election and Osun. This is an indication that 2015, which is a big one, would be better than the previous general elections that we have had. To that extent, I want to give INEC some bit of credit, hoping again that certain measures, which the UPP, the party that I lead, has suggested, which has received the attention of the National Assembly, will be embraced by INEC. By this I mean the Electronic Voting System, The electronic voting system was more or less championed by the UPP, right from the very day of our registration as a political party. We began to canvass it; using every official interaction we had with INEC. In fact, we wrote a memo on it to Mr. President, the President of Senate; the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the Chairman of INEC himself. We didn’t get any reply, no response, no acknowledgement. So, we decided to do the same memo to every member of the National Assembly. We are happy that when the Senate considered that aspect of the provision of the Electoral Act, the Senate did exactly what we wanted them to do; to expunge session 52:2 which restrained INEC from using Electronic Voting System. And why are we passionate about this system? We are passionate about this system because it is the only system that is feasible to be used now that we already have Electronic Register, electronically generated voters card and the basic infrastructure to transit to it. And it is the only system that will eliminate the use of thugs; it will eliminate the use of ballot papers to a large extent; there will be no ballot boxes to a large extent; people can vote with their GSM telephones; those who cannot send text messages, because it is just like sending an SMS can then go the polling booth to vote manually. This way; those who registered their biodata in Maiduguri and have relocated to Lagos as a result of the security challenges of the country can still vote and his vote will count where they registered. One can voteVote from the comfort of his home or work place without having to queue and be exposed to the danger of being bombed or attacked by terrorists. There will be no use for thugs because there will be no job for them to do. Nigeria will not have to declare work-free day on election days with the attendant opportunity costs to our economy; participation will be between 80, 90 and 95 percent unlike now that we have just maximum 25 percent participation, which by any stretch of imagination cannot be regarded as legitimate, if you have that low level of participation. These are just some of the advantages that we highlighted and we made sure every member of the National Assembly had a copy of the memo. And on the day of the debate, a Senator from Zamfara State, whom we didn’t even meet personally, only read our memo as his position as it was carried without debate. So, what is left now is for Nigerians to join in putting pressure on INEC to adopt Electronic Voting System. It can be adopted; it is feasible, the infrastructure is there. It is only the ruling political party that lacks the will power to submit itself to the ordinary people for the next election because what is simply means is that the people will now be able to determine who will preside over their affairs; to manipulate the system becomes a Herculean task.

    But it must have some disadvantages. For example, in the present day Nigeria an individual can own 10 telephone lines with different names. Why are you presenting this thing as if Nigerians will not find a way to manipulate it? One can register with different names.

    No you can’t. You can disguise your face you can lay claims to 10 different names but you cannot have 10 finger prints. You can only have one finger print. When we talk of biodata it includes even your eye contact because there is photograph. Remember that the Electronic Voters Register now has been dictating those who registered twice with different photographs. That’s what Obiano did. Obiano changed his dress, registered in two or three different places and those things appeared at the Voters Register and he was shown to have done multiple registration. So, even if you disguise your face, you cannot disguise your finger print.

    Secondly, third world countries have been using it. Ghana has used it twice and there has not been complaint about manipulation of the technology. Indonesia is using it. These are third world countries. India, with a population of over 60 million voters; that’s what they used, not to talk of developed countries and Nigeria is technologically more advanced than most of the third world country already using it. So what is just holding us back is the fear of the masses, because the masses are not irrational; what we see, written as election results are not the wishes of the people. We also have enough time now to make that transition, and it will make the work of INEC easier. We don’t need all these security people marching everywhere. I know that APC has strong complaint about intimidation of their people in Ekiti and Osun. If we use Electronic Voting System all these will not happen and as you are voting, the result will be captured instantaneously across the board; from voting booth to the ward up there. The issue of late arrival of sensitive materials will not arise; late return of result will not arise; litigation will be minimized. So why can’t Nigeria adopt that and let us have a peaceful election for once. Even INEC told us in interactions they had with political parties, not only UPP, that the only thing holding them from using Electronic Voting System was the legal provision that should had now been expunged by the Senate.

    Given the security situation, if the Electronic Voting System is not adopted in 2015, it will be dangerous to go out to vote, especially in the North-East. What do you envisage?

    If the Electronic Voting System is not adopted and the security situation remains as it is in 2015, it is certain that a lot of people, in the security endangered area who cannot go out to vote would be disenfranchised; not that the government want them to be disenfranchised but because the situation will make them to keep away for their own safety because they do not believe the present crop of politicians are worth dying for. That will be unfortunate because it will amount to the same situation where about 25 percent will vote and we claim it is a legitimate result.

    What is your impression of the National Conference, which has just ended. Is it a waste of time as many said on the outset that it would be?

    I was one of the people that said then that it would be a waste of time. It has not turned out to be a waste of time and resources. It has exposed quite a lot. It has exposed how unpatriotic so many Nigerians can be. Nigerian present structure was designed by fiat. Military government created states and local governments that made everything lopsided. They put in policies that alienated certain parts of the country. They created local government structure that defied logic, they created policies that made landmass a basis for revenue distribution; state creation that has nothing to do with viability. For instance, by 1963, when Nigeria became a Republic, based on creation of the colonial masters who considered the hard realities on ground, the Western Region had nine provinces, the Eastern Region had 12 provinces and the whole North had 14 provinces. So, the South had 21 provinces with the North having 14 provinces. But the moment the military came in, the first thing General Yakubu Gowon administration did was to create 12 states, giving six to North and six to the South, thus making the North and South equal. From there, they began to give the North some advantages to the point that today we have 36 states with 19 in the North and 17 in the South, excluding Abuja. There was no dialogue, to discuss the reason for this. As a result tension has been building up and people have been calling for a dialogue for equity.

  • Is Nigeria not ripe for electronic voting?

    Is Nigeria not ripe for electronic voting?

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has jettisoned e-voting for the 2015 general elections. Assistant Editor LEKE SALAUDEEN examines its implications for the nation’s electoral process.

     

    When the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Attahiru Jega, disclosed that e-voting would not be feasible in 2015, many Nigerians expressed surprise. In March, last year, he had raised their hope about the proposed voting system. They felt that the electronic method would bring relief in the next general elections.

    Since 1964, elections have been problematic. Ballot boxes have often developed wings and losers declared winners by the electoral commission. When those boxes resurface at the counting centres, they are stuffed with multiple thumb-printed ballot papers.

    Nigeria’s quest for electronic voting started in the Second Republic when the Chairman of the defunct Federal Electoral Commission (FEDECO), the late Justice Victor Ovie-Whiskey, mooted the idea for the 1983 elections. The move was opposed by the leader of the defuct Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN), the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo, who threatened to mobilise his supporters to smash the machines.

    In 2006, when former INEC Chairman Prof. Maurice Iwu proposed the method for the 2007 elections, it was greeted with criticism. The pan-Yoruba socio-political group, Afenifere, rejected the method, saying that the country was not ripe for it. The organisation cited low literacy level and lack of time to ascertain its worth and workability. Besides, it alleged that Iwu had a hidden agenda. Afenifere described e-voting under him as another electronic rigging mechanism.

     

    Constitutional hurdle on e-voting

     

    Jega had cited constitutional hurdle against e-voting in 2015. He said that the National Assembly is yet to amend the aspect of the electoral law that prohibits electronic voting system. But why did the National Assembly fail to review Section 52 (2) of the Electoral Law, as demanded by INEC?

    Senator Aloy Etuk from Akwa Ibom State said the National Assembly is not afraid of electronic voting. “INEC has to convince the National Assembly of its readiness to go electronic. You can’t just wake up one a day and say you want to introduce e-voting. For instance, INEC must have acquired machines it wants to use up to date and put in place all necessary infrastructure that would make it work”, he said.

    A political scientist, Professor Abubakar Momoh, is not disturbed by the National Assembly’s failure to amend the law. He said the permanent voter’s register, which the INEC is working on, would be embedded in the electronic chips on cards to curb electoral mal-practices.

    Momoh explained that each card would carry the information about the voter, his or her biometric data, finger prints and photograph. The system, he added, would have authentic verification of voters at the polling unit. “There will be card readers that will automatically verify whether you are the genuine owner of the card or not”, he said.

    The political scientist pointed out that the upgraded the voter register would prevent multiple voting or impersonation. Since the buying of voter’s card is not possible, multiple voting will be easily detected, Momoh said.

    “What the INEC has put in place is enough to apprehend those who want to breach electoral rules at the polling centres. The sophistication of the new system is unknown to politicians who may want to cheat to win election. Whoever that makes any attempt to cheat at the polling centres would be caught, prosecuted and jailed, if found guilty by the court.”

    Etuk, who agreed with Momoh, said that the National Assembly will support any system that will guarantee fairness, transparency and ensure that every vote counts.

    “All we need is the assurance of its effectiveness. One has taken cognisance of what happened in the United States, where the adoption of e-voting generated controversy at a time in California. Consequently, it was put on hold for a season. The government had harsh words for the voting machine makers.

    “If America is scared and cautious, it is advisable that we should do our homework very well, so that we don’t end up importing abandoned and outdated technology and flood the polling boots with them. We must understand the working processes of the machines”, Etuk advised.

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) Interim Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Muhammed, said the manual voting is old-fashioned. He said the method would significantly reduce the huge cost of elections, improve stability and end the atmosphere of war associated with elections.

    Another advantage identified by the APC chieftain is that the involvement of security agencies in elections would be de-emphasised. He called on the National Assembly to amend Section 52 (2) of the Electoral Act, which outlaws e-voting.

     

    Prospects of electronic voting

     

    A software engineer, Adenrele Adebowale, said that electronic voting, if properly administered, is likely to improve the credibility of the elections, de-emphasise the militarisation of polls and increase transparency. He said that, since e-voting gives little or no room for manipulation during the voting, its adoption would reform and clean up the process.

    Adebowale said the voting system saves cost, increases participation by citizens and eliminates human error in vote-count, adding that recounting is eliminated.

    However, the challenge is the infrastructure. The country lacks the machines and software required for the functioning of the e-voting. A social critic, Bernard Briggs, said that this challenge should be resolved.

    “We do not have sufficient IT infrastructure as everything is being run by paper and file system. In Nigeria, we are not particularly known for our skills in technology and as a result, the electoral commission employees will have to learn how to operate the machines. With the intractable challenge in electricity supply and the poor Information Technology skills of the majority of our population, the 2015 elections may end up being badly muddled up.

    “ The electronic data capturing machines frequently ran out of power and those who wanted to register had to make repeated visits to the registration centres before they could get registered. This would not be tenable in an election situation”, he added.

    But the President of the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE), Alhaji Mustafa Shehu, said it is possible for the INEC use electronic voting in two year’s time. He said that the engineers should take up the challenge.

    The NSE boss recalled how the organisation successfully used e-voting for the election of its officers last year. He said the soft word used was developed by local engineers.

    Shehu said the system would produce credible result that would confer legitimacy on the government and make the elected leaders to be more accountable to the people.

     

    How it works

     

    Electronic voting is any voting process where an electronic means is used for vote casting and result counting. For example, the NIGCOMSAT RFID biometric e-voting system is a contact-less card system, which presents a novel methodology for an off-line and always-available system that is suitable for developing countries.

    Its peculiar features include an inherent voter authentication and on-the-spot check of multiple voting without reliance on external communication link or backend database queries as the process are localised ,using the voter card as a local and mobile database.

    According to enginers, the system allows for quick and accurate voting electronically. It uses a client or server architecture which allows voters to cast ballots on the client terminal. Each client interfaces with the server, which keeps track of the entire system. The process involves registration, verification, authentication, voting and tallying’

    The intended voter has a registered smartcard with his orher bio-data, fingerprint and photograph printed on it. A database is also accessible to an electoral official, local and internal observer, and the public by visiting the domain site of the electoral body. The smartcard automatically becomes invalid, once a vote is cast and the voter is given a receipt or counterfoil of whom he voted for, time of vote and where the vote was cast.

    With the e-voting system, results are available promptly on the internet. Observers and voters can also view the ‘real-time’ of the election results from their homes, offices or anywhere in the world, using the web-enabled devices, including the PC, laptops, phones or iPAD, by simply logging into the designated website.

    Another benefit of the e-voting system is the speed in which results can be obtained because results are accurately tabulated instantaneously. It reduces the risk of human and mechanical error and movement restriction. It brings electoral fraud to the barest minimum as it will eliminate multiple registrations and upholds “one man one vote” paradigm.

     

    Countries where it works

     

    Electronic voting was introduced in Brazil in 1996. The primary goal of the Brazilian voting machine is extreme simplicity, the model being a public phone booth. The voting system was widely accepted, due to the fact that it sped up the vote-count. For example, in the 1989 presidential elections between Fernado Collor de Mello and Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, the vote count lasted nine days. But in the 2002 general elections, the count required less than 12 hours. In rural areas, the election results were known minutes after the closing of the ballots.

    It was introduced in Belgium in 1991. Two locations were chosen to experiment on different electronic voting systems. One of the systems tested was based on a touch panel similar to those used in the Netherlands. The other system still in use is based on a magnetic card and a voting machine with a light pen.

  • ‘Electronic funds transfers to hit N160b daily’

    The second phase of the cash-less policy billed to commence in July may raise the value of electronic funds transfer in the country to N160 billion per day by the end of this year, the Chief Executive Officer, Electronic Payment Providers Association of Nigeria (E-PPAN), Mrs. Onajite Regha, has said.

    Additional states coming on board for the next phase of the cash-less policy are the Federal Capital Territory, Abia, Rivers, Anambra, Kano and Ogun states.

    The E-PPAN boss, who spoke in Lagos, said the current value of electronic fund transfers – put at N80 billion per day by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), would most likely double because there would be a lot of changes, which would compel people to use e-Fund transfer channels.

    The Nigeria Interbank Settlement System (NIBSS) is handling transactions worth about N20 billion daily, while the Nigeria Electronic Funds Transfer is conducting about N60bn worth of transactions daily.

    NIBSS provides the infrastructure for automated processing, settlement of payments and fund transfer instructions between banks, discount houses and card companies in Nigeria. It is owned equally by all licensed banks in Nigeria, and the CBN. Discount houses operating in Nigeria also hold substantial shares.

    A NEFT payment is an irrevocable fund transfer instruction.

    Mrs. Onajite Regha said : “By the time we do six months into the new phase, the figure is likely going to rise by over 100 per cent.

    “All these places we are going to are places where cash is moved heavily. We are looking at six additional commercial centres. We should, therefore, not forget that right now, it is only Lagos that is functional.”

    Currently, there about 150,000 PoS terminals deployed in the country for the cash-less initiative, which commenced in January last year.

    The E-PPAN boss said: “By the time we started the Cash-less Lagos scheme, the projection of the regulator was that by December, 2012, we would have recorded 40,000 PoS terminal deployment. But available data showed that we now have about 150, 000 PoS machines in Lagos.

    “However, the question is: How many of the PoS are working? So, that is where I believe we need to work on. We need to have better connectivity to these terminals to encourage the merchants and the consumers to use the devices for seamless payment transactions.”

    The Deputy Governor, Operations, CBN, Mr. Tunde Lemo, who is responsible for driving the cash-less policy, recently explained that the additional states (Rivers, Kano, Anambra, Ogun and Abia as well as the FCT) for the cash-less initiative were chosen because of the large volume of cash transactions in some of their major cities.

    He said: “Recall that we started this programme actually in January last year and we are only just continuing. We are only just moving to phase two, so we have learnt all the ropes in phase one in cash-less Lagos and we believe we are ready to roll out to other six locations in Nigeria”.

     

     

     

  • First Registrars deploys electronic voting for general meetings

    Shareholders at their general meetings can now ensure seamless and more accurate voting as First Registrars Nigeria Limited broke new ground in innovation in the share registration industry with the operational launch of its electronic voting (e-voting) system.

    First Registrars showcased the trail-blazing e-voting device at the extra-ordinary general meeting of Honeywell Flour Mills Plc. The devices could be used for all voting at any general meeting including approval of resolutions, election of audit committee, board members election and other opinion polls.

    Several shareholders, shareholders’ associations and corporate executives have commended First Registrars for the innovation.

    Speaking on the initiative, managing director, First Registrars Nigeria Limited, Mr. Bayo Olugbemi, said the company was innovation driven and it would continue to pioneer market-based solutions that will give shareholders and client companies unparalleled advantages in the share registration industry.

    According to him, world-class technology and excellent customer services are the differentiating factors that position First Registrars as the leading capital market registrars company in the Nigerian capital market.

    He noted that against the previous constraints of manual voting, the advent of e-voting and telephone devices voting and poll processes at corporate meetings are now done seamlessly in a jiffy with the election results being projected live at such meetings.

    “We benchmark only the international best practices while setting the pace for others to follow in the Nigerian capital market – we are indeed the leader but will never be complacent,” Olugbemi said.

    The e-voting devices not only capture the head counts of voters, they also capture the number of units owned by them and in the case of shareholders with multiple share accounts; they can be linked to a single voting device. Poll results are displayed on the screen instantly after every poll for transparency while accurate reports are also available for audit purposes.

    Chairman, Honeywell Flourmills Plc, Dr. Ayoola Oba Otudeko commended the efforts of First Registrars in transforming the share registration industry through ground breaking innovations.

     

  • Use electronic voting in 2015, says ACN

    Use electronic voting in 2015, says ACN

    The time has come to embrace electronic voting system in the conduct of elections, the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) said yesterday.

    The party said the system would ensure the integrity of elections and hand back elections to Nigerians and advocated its use in 2015.

    In a statement issued in Lagos yesterday by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the ACN said electronic voting would bring down the cost of elections, stabilise the polity, eliminate the atmosphere of war usually associated with elections and erase the fear introduced into the voting process with the involvement of security agencies.

    It said though Section 52, Sub-section 2 of the Electoral Act bans the use of electronic voting ‘’for the time being’’, the National Assembly should move quickly to amend that part of the law and the Federal Government should provide the Independent National Election Commission (INEC) with all the resources needed to make electronic voting a reality.

    The statement reads: “‘We assure INEC of our full support towards using electronic voting in 2015. We also appeal to all other political parties, Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) and indeed all Nigerians to join us in pushing for a system that will eliminate the role of thugs and sideline vote thieves during our elections, in addition to making our elections free, fair and credible.

    “While electronic voting is not a magic wand, it is the surest way yet for Nigeria to join the league of countries that have wiped out electoral fraud, which is the worst form of corruption.

    “It is also the best way to hand over Nigeria’s elections back to Nigerians, instead of having the judiciary determine who wins what contest. Two years is a long enough time to achieve this.

    “Taking a cue from Ghana, which has organised perhaps the best elections in this part of the world, has realised it can no longer continue with manual voting, hence it did not wait for troubles associated with electoral malfeasance to break out before embracing electronic voting during its last general elections in December.”

    Mohammed added: “It is not just enough for us to sit back in envy while the world hails our neighbour Ghana for being a model in electoral rectitude and participatory democracy. Let us ask ourselves what we need to do differently to shed our toga of electoral fraud and brigandage.

    “Yes, there were some hiccups during the last elections in Ghana, which were conducted with electronic voting. But Ghana quickly moved to correct whatever problems came up. The system also allowed Ghana to extend voting without fearing that ballot boxes will be hijacked or stuffed.”

    Admitting that Ghana’s last presidential election that was conducted with electronic voting has been challenged in court, the ACN said: “To the best of our knowledge, that’s the only case being contested in court since the elections ended.

    “Compare this with Nigeria, where many cases emanating from the 2011 elections are still in court, almost two years later!

    “It is totally unacceptable and indeed an anomaly for a nation of 160 million people to hand over the determination of its elections to a few ‘wise’ men and women on the bench. One result of Nigeria’s successive failed elections is that it has brought corruption to the judiciary. It is time to free judges to do their duties and allow Nigerians to play more role in determining who governs them.”

    The electoral umpire- Independent National Election Commission (INEC) – yesterday explained why it cannot introduce the electronic voting system in 2015.

    It said the Electoral Act 2010, as amended, prohibits electronic voting, saying INEC will maintain the status quo until Section 52, Sub-section 2 has been reworked.

    It also ruled out the possibility of introducing the system in one fell swoop for the conduct of the next general elections.

    Mr Kayode Idowu, Chief Press Secretary (CPS) to INEC Chairman Prof Attahiru Jega, said the electoral umpire was favourably disposed to using electronic voting, but for what is contained in the Electoral Act.

    Idowu said yesterday that even if that section of the Electoral Act is amended, it might be impossible to apply the system in 2015 because its success depends on available facilities.

    “But INEC will experiment and pilot-test the system in 2015, if allowed by the law. As it is, INEC as the executor of the Electoral Act is prohibited from using electronic voting for election,” he said.