The Independent National Electoral Commission is asking for a review of the extant laws prohibiting electronic voting in the country.
The commission was of the view that the scientific system of voting had become an unavoidable reality as evidenced in the major role technology played in the success recorded in the 2015 general election.
Chairman of INEC, Hajia Amina Zakari, said this during the post-2015 Electoral Reform Symposium organised by the National Democratic Institute and other civil society organisations.
The chairman represented by a National Commissioner, Lawrence Nwuruku, admitted that the introduction of the card reader machine by the immediate past INEC Chairman, Prof. Attahiru Jega, minimised rigging and electoral irregularities during the 2015 general election.
“Should we not then entrench its use and application in our electoral laws to avoid whatever ambiguities that may exist with the present legal regime? Should Nigerians in the Diaspora not have the right to vote? Should electronic accreditation, transmission and collation of results not be permitted? Should the decision of the returning officer be final subject only to a reversal by a tribunal?” Zakari queried.
“For us to consolidate and build on the gains of the recent past, we must take cognisance of the imperatives of electoral reforms in order to build a sustainable, stable and durable democracy.”
The INEC chairman, however, regretted that the commission submitted a comprehensive memorandum to the National Assembly as well as the 2014 National Conference but that the proposed amendments did not see the light of the day.
