Only Technology Can Guarantee Credible Electoral Process — INEC
Only Technology Can Guarantee Credible Electoral Process — INEC
ABUJA – Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, chairman, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), has stressed the place of appropriate technology deployment in the effort by nations to guarantee transparency and credibility in the electoral process.
The INEC boss affirmed this when he received a delegation from the National Electoral Commission of Liberia who are in the country to understudy the country’s voter biometric registration process.
Prof. Yakubu said nations across the globe are moving away from manual electoral process and commended the Liberia Electoral Commission for taking the bold step to migrate to the use of technology.
“In Nigeria, we are convinced that the use of appropriate technology is one of the best guarantees for transparency and credibility of the electoral process.
“As requested, we will share our experience with you to enable you make an informed decision for Liberia. In our interactions over the next two days, we will demonstrate to you and your team the processes for both the online and physical registration, the equipment used for the exercise, staff requirement and training, the procedure for cleaning up the field data, the compilation and printing of the register for elections and the system of storage and retrieval of information. We will also take you to some of the registration centres in Abuja for practical and on-the-spot experience of the exercise”, he assured the Liberian delegation.
It is not the first time the NEC of Liberia is seeking and benefitting from the nation’s electoral commission.
Meanwhile, INEC has released list of 478 candidates that have passed the required scrutiny to contest for various constituency seats in the February 2022 council election in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
The candidates who represent 14 of the 18 political parties will vie for chairman, vice chairman of the six area councils of Bwari, Abaji, Kwali, Kuje, Gwagwalada and Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC), as well as the councillorship seats in the LGAs.
Of the numbers, 110 are squaring for the chairman and vice chairman positions, while 363 candidates will slug it out in the 68 councillorship seats.