The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has decided to halt manual voting in the 2019 general elections.
INEC chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu said this during a meeting with executives of the Forum of State Independent Electoral Commission (SIECs), who visited him at the commission’s headquarters in Abuja.
“We can no longer continue to conduct elections manually in Nigeria. We must introduce modern technology as being done in other countries. Very soon, the use of technology for the conduct of local elections in the country will be mandatory,” Prof. Yakubu said.
“It will make the process transparent and very open as it should be. The use of smart card, otherwise known as Card Reader machine, has come to stay, though it requires a lot of resources. We see we can do it because it adds value and more credibility to the electoral process in the country. Some states have been using it in the conduct of their elections. We are seeing how we can make it to go round,” he added.
He assured the SIECs of the commission’s collaboration during his tenure as part of efforts to deepen democracy.
“We will continue to collaborate and cooperate with SEICs and other organisations in improving election management in the country,” he said.
