INEC Orders Manual Accreditation, Extends Exercise Till Sunday

by Deji Abiodun

Prof. Attahiru Jega, the chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has approved the use of manual accreditation in areas that the Smart Card Readers malfunctioned during the Presidential and National Assembly elections in the country.

He also extended the exercise till Sunday in where the elections were not held, directing all Resident Electoral Commissioners in the country to conduct the election on Sunday in areas where there were hitches.

Here is a statement from the Independent National Electoral Commission.

INEC has been monitoring field reports on the accreditation process since commencement this morning. Whereas the process has gone well in several places, in some others it has encountered some challenges especially the card readers.

Consequently, accreditation has been slow in many places and has not commenced at all in some others .

Even though the guidelines for the 2015 general elections provide that where card readers fail to work and cannot be replaced, elections in such PUs will be postponed to the next day.

The scale of the challenge we have observed has necessitated a reconsideration of the provision of the guidelines

The Commission has therefore decided that in PUs where card readers fail to work, the Presiding Officer shall manually accredit voters
The Presiding Officer shall mark the voters register upon being satisfied that the person presenting a PVC is the owner.

Notwithstanding, in PUs where accreditation was suspended to the next day in accordance with the guidelines, arrangements will be made for voters to vote tomorrow, subject to the provisions of the Electoral Act 2010.

The Commission reassures the public that it will thoroughly investigate what happened while it stays committed to credible elections.