PVCs collection
On the collection of permanent voter cards, Okoye said the PVCs that were ready for the 2019 general elections were available for collection across the country.
He added, “Registration officers of the commission moved to the various registration centres with the uncollected cards. The cards for those who registered during the first and second quarters of the CVR are still being collected.
“The commission will only make a determination of the number of uncollected cards at the stoppage of collection of the cards close to the period of election.”
Also, when asked the number of Bimodal Voter Accreditation System the commission would procure to replace those lost during attacks on some INEC offices, Okoye said the procurement was ongoing and the commission would have the number it needed before the polls.
Okoye added, “The commission will procure and deploy at least 200,000 BVAS for the 2023 general elections. The commission introduced an all-in-one device to improve the quality and efficiency of electoral services.
“The multi-functional integrated device introduced by the commission has different acronyms for the different activities it is used for. During the registration of voters, it is called the INEC voter enrolment device. During the accreditation of voters, it is called Bimodal Voter Accreditation System, also known as BVAS. During the result upload, it is called the INEC result viewing device.
“The device will be deployed in the 176,846 polling units in Nigeria and the redundancies will be deployed in the 8,809 registration areas as backup. The commission continues to procure the device and we are confident that we will have the required number way ahead of the elections.”
However, the commission has maintained that vote-buying remains a dent on the electoral process as it impairs the primacy of the voter to exercise rational choices and diminishes the sanctity of the vote.
The INEC Chairman, Prof Mahmood Yakubu, had expressed the commission’s support for the establishment of the Electoral Offences Commission and Tribunal to address electoral offences. He spoke on Tuesday at the public hearing organised by the House of Representatives for the bill to establish the commission.
Okoye, however, stated, “Our considered view is that the conduct and management of elections is a multi-stakeholder venture and all the components of the unit must organise for the delivery of electoral services.
“All the stakeholders must work in unison to stamp out the virus of vote-buying and selling. The commission will continue to improve the electoral environment to actualise the secrecy of the vote. The commission will continue to cooperate and consult with the security agencies in terms of arrest, investigation and prosecution of vote buyers and sellers.
“The commission supports the setting up of an Electoral Offences Commission and Tribunal that will have the power to arrest, investigate and prosecute electoral offenders. We must break the cycle of cynical electoral impunity in Nigeria.”