From Romanus Ugwu, Abuja
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), has disclosed that it will deploy full election technology in the conduct of next weekend’s February 12 Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Area Council elections.
Commission’s Chairman, Prof Mahmood Yakubu, made the disclosure at the stakeholders meeting organised by the FCT Administration ahead of the poll.
He emphasised that both Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS), which has already been configured and INEC Result Viewing portal (IReV).
He however frowned at the eight cases in court challenging the nomination or educational qualification of candidates, appreciating the judiciary for “standing firm to the shenanigans of forum shoppers and litigation-happy individuals who often waste the precious time of the Courts and INEC litigating even the most improbable cases.”
On the deployment of technology, the Electoral umpire boss, said: “With regard to election technology for voter accreditation, the Commission has reviewed the performance of BVAS in the recent Anambra State governorship election. Lessons learnt from that election have been considered in planning for the Area Council elections. The BVAS have been configured and ready to deploy for the election.
“We have also made adequate arrangements for technical support and transportation to speedily respond in the unlikely event of glitches on Election Day. Similarly, election results will be uploaded to the INEC Result Viewing portal (IReV) in real-time when voting ends and votes are counted at polling units on Election Day,” he said.
While frowning at the litigation, Prof Yakubu said: “The 2022 FCT Area Council Election is not without its fair share of litigations. Right now, there are eight cases in court challenging the nomination or educational qualification of candidates. Some of the cases are already before the Supreme Court.
“However, contrary to the Commission’s experience in previous elections around the country, there are no conflicting judgments or orders by courts of coordinate jurisdiction anywhere on the forthcoming FCT elections.
“Let me seize this opportunity to appreciate the judiciary, particularly the FCT High Court, for standing firm to the shenanigans of forum shoppers and litigation-happy individuals who often waste the precious time of the Courts and INEC by litigating even the most improbable cases,” he said.
Prof Yakubu equally commended the political parties, stressing: “The Commission is happy with the behaviour of parties and candidates in the FCT. So far, there are no adverse reports of clashes between supporters of different parties and not many incidents of hate or inciting speeches as they canvass for votes.
“I commend the stakeholders for their advocacy for peaceful elections. I appeal to political parties and candidates to continue to show maturity and decorum as campaigns come to a close and Election Day draws nearer,” he said.
“At this juncture, I wish to draw your attention to a few areas where the Commission needs the support of all stakeholders in the FCT. You may recall that early last year, INEC succeeded in expanding voter access to polling units for the first time in 25 years in spite of the apparent expansion of the voter population and emergence of new settlements. From just 562 polling units, the Commission established additional 2,260 units and relocated some of them from congested locations to proximate but underserved areas.
“We gave voters the opportunity to transfer to some of the new polling units. Unfortunately, voters did not take advantage of this opportunity as we had expected in all cases. Consequently, there are 593 polling units in the FCT without registered voters, 1,328 polling units with between 0-50 voters and 546 polling units with over 1,000 registered voters. We have already informed political parties, civil society organisations, the media and security agencies at the national level about this development.
“The Commission has decided that no election will take place at the polling units without registered voters. No materials have been produced for these units and no personnel will be deployed to them. However, voting will take place in all the other polling units.
“For congested polling units, the Commission will deploy more than one BVAS to facilitate a speedy accreditation of voters. We will also deploy additional staff to these locations. We also agreed with the security agencies to deploy more personnel to ensure peace and order,” he assured.