By Lateef Ibrahim, Abuja
The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has described the registration of voters as a crucial building block for any electoral democracy.
The Commission made it abundantly that a credible register of voters is a sine qua non in the electoral process.
The INEC National Commissioner and Chairman Information and Voter Education, Barrister Festus Okoye said these at a workshop on Technological Applications in the Continuous Voter Registration Process Systems for Heads of Department of ICT in the States and FCT in Lagos.
The electoral umpire maintained that while a register of voters of questionable integrity undermines the credibility of an election and erodes the trust of the people in the electoral outcomes, an accurate and reliable register of voters not only enhances electoral transparency and integrity; it confers credibility on electoral outcomes.
Okoye said, “As you are all aware, the registration of voters is a crucial building block for any electoral democracy.
“Indeed, a credible register of voters is a sine qua non in the electoral process.
“While a register of voters of questionable integrity undermines the credibility of an election and erodes the trust of the people in the electoral outcomes, an accurate and reliable register of voters not only enhances electoral transparency and integrity; it confers credibility on electoral outcomes.
“Based on the resolve of the Commission to improve the quality of the register of voters and provide the opportunity for every eligible Nigerian to register to vote, some technological innovations was recently approved and introduced to the voter registration system.
“This is in keeping with the Commission’s avowed determination to deepen the use of technology in the electoral process through continued innovations that introduces desirable changes and new solutions to the electoral process.
“The application of technological applications to the CVR process is designed to facilitate ease of registration, especially within the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and to minimize data loss.
“The Commission will continue to work assiduously to reduce manual processes in our electoral process, thereby reducing incidents of manipulations, human interventions and fraud”, it said.
The INEC National Commissioner explained that based on the resolve of the Commission to improve the quality of the register of voters and provide the opportunity for every eligible Nigerian to register to vote, some technological innovations was recently approved and introduced to the voter registration system.
This, according to him, is in keeping with the Commission’s avowed determination to deepen the use of technology in the electoral process through continued innovations that introduces desirable changes and new solutions to the electoral process.
He added, “The application of technological applications to the CVR process is designed to facilitate ease of registration, especially within the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and to minimize data loss.
“The Commission will continue to work assiduously to reduce manual processes in our electoral process, thereby reducing incidents of manipulations, human interventions and fraud. “Although the Commission had promised to undertake the registration of eligible citizens on a continual basis as prescribed by the law, the resumption of the exercise after the 2019 General Election was delayed on account of the challenges of the COVID-19 Pandemic”, he stressed.
He therefore harped on the need for all registration and revision officers to develop their capacity to handle the new CVR processes and procedure by being sensitive to the needs of registrants. Professionalism, good mannered conduct, self-restraint in the face of provocation, gender sensitivity and transparency must be the watchword.
He added, “This Commission is determined to deepen the use of technology in the electoral process.
“We must improve with every election and with every electoral cycle.
‘That must be our legacy and the legacy we must leave for the Nigerian people”, he maintained.
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