Implement Electronic Voting In 2019, CSOs Tell INEC

By Chika Okeke

Ahead of the 2019 general elections, civil society organisations under the auspices of Alliance for Credible Election (ACE) have challenged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to fully implement electronic voting system noting that there was a need to strengthen the electoral regime to avoid violence.

A board member of ACE, Yunusa Zakari Ya’u, who stated this yesterday in Abuja, during the public presentation of the 2015 post-election opinion polls report, described the survey as the first step towards ensuring free and transparent elections in the future.

ACE, with the support of Mac Arthur Foundation contracted an Abuja-based research organisation, Fusion Consulting Limited, to conduct an opinion poll about the views of Nigerians on the 2015 general elections.

He said the survey provided valuable materials to reflect on the conducts of the election and highlighted valuable lessons for improvement in subsequent elections disclosing that the survey captured responses from the six geo-political zones.

On her part, a representative of Mac Arthur Foundation, Ms Hauwa Kazeem, said their major target was to support organisations in introducing political reforms adding that it was high time Nigerians tracked electoral promises made by leaders so as to bring about good governance and social justice.

While interpreting the survey, a representative of Fusion Consulting, Ms Toyin Akinloye, indicted political thugs and Boko Haram for masterminding electoral violence across the six geo-political zones. She observed that challenges related to the use of permanent voters card were some of the reasons people failed to vote.

According to the survey, “50% of the violence in the North-east was carried out by Boko Haram and the other 50% by political thugs. While political thugs carried out 67% violence in South- south, the entire violence masterminded in the South-east was just 33%”, she said

Source:The leadership Nig.