The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) National Commissioner in charge of Information and Voter Education Committee, Dr. Chris Eyimoga on Saturday, March 28, 2015 revealed that the decision to amend the electoral guidelines at such a short notice was due to the large scale.
He made this disclosure at a world press conference in Abuja after the polls which was rocked by card reader malfunction and late distribution of materials in several polling units.
The commissioner blamed the problem of late distribution of materials in Abuja and some other places on an existing fracas between the INEC and the members of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW).
He reinstated the resolve of the commission to ensure the election turned out not just free but fair and credible notwithstanding the lapses.
He said, “INEC has been monitoring field reports since the commencement of the election this morning. While the exercise has gone well in several places, in many others it has encountered some challenges especially with the use of the card readers; consequently accreditation has been slow in many places and has not commenced in others.”
“Even though the guidelines for the conduct of the 2015 general elections provide that where card readers fail to work and cannot be replaced, elections in such polling units will be postponed till the following day, the scale of the challenge we have observed today has necessitated a reconsideration of this provision of the guidelines.
“The commission has therefore decided as part of the guidelines for the conduct of the 2015 general elections that in polling units where card readers have so failed to work, the presiding officer shall manually accredit voters by marking the register of voters, upon being satisfied that the person presenting the Permanent Voter Card (PVC) is the legitimate holder of the card.”
