The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has said that it would meet with Joint Committee of the Senate and House of Representatives on Electoral Matters to recommend to review Permanent Voters’ Cards (PVC) as the sole means of identification on election day.
INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu disclosed this on Thursday in Abuja at a meeting with the Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) on detailed issues of planning and reform learning from the experience of the 2023 General Election.
He said having released its 524-page main report on the election, a copy of which is available on its website, the commission has consulted widely internally with its own officials and externally with all major stakeholders.
He noted that out of the 142 recommendations, 86 require administrative action by the Commission, saying it was therefore pertinent that the commission engages first with RECs because of their frontline role in the implementation of the recommendations.
Yakubu stressed that with the conclusion of five major off-cycle Governorship elections and nine out of 21 bye-elections since the 2023 general election, this was the most appropriate time for us to commence the implementation of the recommendations arising from our review of the General Election.
He said this was 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.
The chairman stressed that on the legal review, there are eight recommendations that require legislative action by the National Assembly.
He assured that the presentation would be made to the Joint Committee of the Senate and House of Representatives on Electoral Matters as they continue to deliberate on electoral reform.
Yakubu stated: “On the legal review, there are eight recommendations that require legislative action by the National Assembly. Very soon, the Commission will make a presentation to the Joint Committee of the Senate and House of Representatives on Electoral Matters as they continue to deliberate on electoral reform.
“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 Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS), the use of the Permanent Voters’ Cards (PVC) as the sole means of identification for voter accreditation on Election Day should be reviewed.
“Those who already have the PVCs can still use them to vote, but going forward, computer-generated slips issued to the voter or even downloaded from the Commission’s website will suffice for voter accreditation.
“This will not only save cost, it will also eliminate the issues around the collection of PVCs and the diabolical practice of buying up the cards from voters in order to disenfranchise them.”