INEC chairman, Yakubu, reiterates need for adoption of technology in conduct of elections

The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Mahmood Yakubu, on Thursday, at the meeting of the Senate and House of Representatives Conference Committee on the Electoral Act Amendment Bill 2021 at Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja, reiterated the commission’s stance on the adoption of technology in the conduct of elections in Nigeria, particularly, issues relating to electronic transmission of results.

Professor Yakubu, in his goodwill remarks, commended the two chambers of the National Assembly for the invitation to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), to deliver goodwill remarks at the harmonization meeting on the Electoral Act Amendment Bill 2021.

Yakubu noted that for about two years, the Commission has interacted with the Senate Committee on INEC and the House of Representatives Committee on Electoral Matters, including a retreat in Lagos, to consider the extensive proposals to amend the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended). He recalled the participation of the Commission in the technical committee of the federal legislature that reviewed the draft Bill before the clause-by-clause consideration by the National Assembly.

He stated that the last stage before the passage of the Bill by the National Assembly and submission to the Executive for assent would be concluded at the ongoing Conference in Abuja.

Prof. Yakubu stated that the Electoral Act is one of the most important laws in any democracy.

The INEC chairman declared: “Election is a process anchored on a legal framework. First is the Constitution, followed by the Electoral Act.

INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, (left) and some Senators at the event.

“In all jurisdictions, the Electoral Act provides more detailed provisions to govern the conduct of elections and the electoral process.

“One of the unique aspects of the current amendment of the Electoral Act is that it started well ahead of the forthcoming General Election, unlike previous exercises which came too close to elections.

‘The importance of starting early is that it allows for a thorough debate by citizens on aspects of the Bill long after the conventional public hearing as witnessed recently. Clearly, the Electoral Amendment Bill 2021 is one of the most extensively debated Bills in Nigeria.”

Yakubu maintained that understandably, the issue of technology in elections has dominated recent public discussions in Nigeria. The Commission appreciated the decision of the National Assembly to empower INEC to determine and deploy appropriate technology in future elections.

“For us in INEC, this is one of the progressive decisions by our National Assembly. As you finalise on the Electoral Amendment Bill, I urge you to continue to endow the Commission with power to determine what technology to deploy in our elections at the appropriate time.

‘One way of doing so is to make broad provisions of the law that will empower the Commission to continue to innovate without restricting us to a specific technology such as the Smart Card Reader which could in due course become obsolete, inapplicable or irrelevant as is already the case following the recent introduction of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) by the Commission,” Yakubu said.

The Commission looked forward to the conclusion of the process without which INEC cannot make the Regulations and Guidelines to give effect to the provisions of the law.

“Without the Regulations and Guidelines, we cannot finalise on the manuals for the training of officials that will conduct elections.

“There are extensive provisions in the current Bill that require clear guidance by the Commission. With only 484 days to the 2023 General Election, time is of the essence.

“In addition to the Anambra State Governorship election holding on 6th November 2021, the Commission has already scheduled three major elections to be conducted next year. First is the Area Council election in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) being held on 12th February 2022, followed by the Ekiti Governorship election on 18th June 2022 and the Osun Governorship election a month later on 16th July 2022. The Commission also has five pending bye-elections made up of three Federal Constituencies and two State Constituencies to contend with,” INEC chairman highlighted.

Yakubu assured the lawmakers that in a proactive manner, the Commission has been studying aspects of the amendment Bill and identifying areas that require the formulation of regulations and guidelines as well as the review of prescribed forms for implementation.

“This will enable the Commission to test-run procedures and pilot innovations ahead of the 2023 General Election. The speedy passage of the Bill will be in the best interest of our electoral process,” he said.

Yakubu assured that  INEC will continue to work closely with the National Assembly.