The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), said that the era of multiple registration and multiple voting was over in Nigeria, as the the use of technology has helped to stop fraud in this regard.
The INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner in Bayelsa State, Mr. Edwin Nwatalari, made the comment in Yenagoa, at the press week of the state chapter of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ).
“For the first time in the history of Nigeria’s electoral process, the commission, as part of its preparations has commenced the continuous voters registration. It is, therefore, fair to say that for the 2015 general elections, not only nearly as many as possible eligible voters will vote, there will be no fictitious names in the register,” Nwatalari, who was represented by Mr. Victor Agbonwanaten, Deputy Director, Voters Education, Publicity, Gender and Civil Society Liaison said.
Speaking further on the topic ‘Towards a Credible 2015 General Elections,’ the INEC REC stated that “The 2015 general elections, to all intents and purposes, will witness the use of card readers in the process of accreditation of voters before they vote. This will be possible because of the type of voter register that we now have. Multiple registration and multiple voting will be a thing of the past.”
He however identified inadequate security as a bane of previous elections in the country. To address this, he said that the commission facilitated the creation of the Inter-Agency Committee on Election Security (ICES) in 2011.
“The committee is now present at all levels and has continued to hold strategic meetings since 2011 with a view to stemming the spate of electoral violence before, during and after polls.”
Addressing the audience at the event, Chairman Bayelsa State NUJ, Tarinyo Akono, urged the people of the country to eschew violence in 2015 as the country votes for its next set of leaders.
