By Anwar Usman
The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has recommended that those without Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) use computer-generated voting slips ahead of future elections in the country.
INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, made this known while speaking yesterday in Abuja during the quarterly consultative meeting with Resident Electoral Commissioners RECs, said PVCs should no longer be the sole requirement for voting, especially with the inception of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System, (BVAS).
He explained that the commission had released its 524-page main report on the 2023 general elections and had consulted widely with its officials and externally with all major stakeholders.
Yakubu disclosed that from the internal and external engagements, the commission had identified 142 recommendations dealing with the general state of preparedness, voter management, voter education and public communication, political parties and candidate management, electoral operations and logistics management.
Others include election officials and personnel, partnership and collaboration, monitoring and supervision, election technology, voting and result management, election security, electoral offences and the electoral legal framework.
He further asserts that out of the 142 recommendations, 86 require administrative action by the commission.
“This is followed by 48 recommendations that require action by a variety of stakeholders, including security agencies, mobile network operators, statutory bodies, political parties, transport unions, civil society organisations and the media.
“Among the major highlights of the commission’s recommendations is the imperative of legal clarity in result management, with regard to manual transfer versus the electronic transmission of results.
“The commission also believes that with the introduction of the BVAS, the use of PVC as the sole means of identification for voter accreditation on election day should be reviewed”, the chairman stated.