2019: Lawyers seek legislation to strengthen card reader

In this report, AKEEM NAFIU examines the rationale behind the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) insistence on card reader for the 2019 general election contrary to the Supreme Court’s verdict that the card reader was not provided for in the Electoral Act The use of card reader appears to have come to stay with the conduct of elections in Nigeriafollowing the insistence of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to deploy it for accreditations in the 2019 general election notwithstanding the nation’s apex court the Supreme Court’s position that there was no provision made for the device in the Electoral Act. The use of the smart card reader was a central issue and critical component of the 2015 general election in the country. And three years on and barely one year to another election, the issue of card reader has again resonated following INEC’s insistence that it had no alternative to the device in the 2019 elections. Card reader was then deployed for the first time in the electoral process of the country and has since remained one of the greatest technological innovations ever put to use in a general election. The smart card reader is a technological device set up to authenticate and verify permanent voters’ card issued by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) during elections. The fundamental basis for deploying the technological device was to ensure a credible, transparent, free and fair election with a view to deepening Nigeria’s democracy. However, the use of the card reader had generated a heated debate among stakeholders before, during and after the 2015 general election. One such debate was the legality of the use of the device. Notwithstanding a judgement by the Supreme Court over the use of the device in the 2015 general election, INEC said it was now more determined to again deploy the card reader for use in the 2019 elections. The electoral umpire said it would not be deterred by the apex court’s pronouncement which said card reader was not a sufficient replacement for manual accreditation. Already, before the electoral umpire’s decision was made public, the House of Representatives had thrown its weight behind the use of the device by passing for second reading an amendment to the Electoral Act, No. 6, 2010, to make the card reader a credible means of voting, amongst others. The bill tagged “a bill for an act to amend provisions of the Electoral Act to further improve the electoral process and for related matters (HB.1425),” was co-sponsored by Hon. Aishatu Jibril Dukku (APC, Gombe), Hon. Ahmed Babba Kaita (APC, Katsina) and Hon. Eucharia Azodo (PDP, Enugu). The bill was passed and sent straight to the committee for final consideration and sought to amend Sections 33 and 36 of the Electoral Act to provide a framework that would enable a vice presidential candidate or deputy gubernatorial candidate to conclude the poll where the nominated candidate for a political office of president or the governor of a state dies. Other amendments approved included providing that a political party can conduct fresh elections for any of the legislative houses of the federation if during the commencement of a poll, but before the conclusion of an election, a candidate nominated and sponsored by a political party dies. Similarly, the bill further amended Section 33 of the principal act by inserting a provision to enable a party choose the running mate of a nominated candidate who dies before the conclusion of a gubernatorial election to replace the deceased candidate. However, the party may choose another candidate as a replacement in the event the running mate withdraws from the election. Leading the debate, Dukku stated that the bill was an amendment and consolidation of 10 individual bills aimed at consolidating on the gains of the 2015 general election and ensure improved electoral process in the country. She said: “The amendments proposed by the bill include clarifying the status of candidacy of an aspirant that dies before the election process is concluded, what happens in the case a winner of an election is later disqualified on genuine grounds, strengthening internal democracy within political parties, to clarify the status of voting for Nigerians living in the Diaspora, to sanitise the conduct within the process of the Electoral Tribunal, etc.” After a series of arguments for and against the bill by other lawmakers, Speaker Yakubu Dogara emphasized the need for an Electoral Act to be in place before elections. He further noted that there was an ample time to correct any abnormalities during the public hearing stage. Apparently inspired by the lawmakers’ action, INEC through one of its top officials revealed its resolve to conduct the 2019 elections with the card reader device. The official speaking under the condition of anonymity disclosed that the commission believed the use of the device would contribute in no small way to the success of the elections. He listed ways in which the device would be helpful to include; helping INEC to confirm that it indeed issued a Permanent Voter Card (PVC) to a holder; that the biometrics of the holder was correct and that the identity of the holder was authenticated through the fingerprints. The senior official further stated that the commission was set to upgrade the status of the card reader in such that whatever was experienced in the past would not be replicated. The official added that part of the challenges the commission had in 2015 was the violence unleashed on the card reader during the election, citing the situation in Rivers State, where he claimed the commission lost 1,321 card readers. Lawyers speak INEC’s decision not to conduct the 2019 general election without the card reader has also attracted reactions from some members of the wig and gown. The lawyers while baring their minds on the issue in separate telephone interviews with New Telegraph Law at the weekend threw their weights behind the electoral umpire’s decision. The lawyers while commending members of the House of Representatives over the recent amendment done on the Electoral Act to ensure that card reader was used in the coming elections, called on the Senate to follow suit so that a legislation backing the use of the device in the electoral process would be in place before 2019. According to them, as invaluable and useful as the card reader may be, it would not guarantee a free and fair election, insisting that INEC must not focus solely on the use of card reader to attain a free and fair election. Speaking on the issue, rights activist and Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Mr. Femi Falana, called on INEC to improve on past experience of Nigerians regarding the use of card reader in the 2015 general election. He said: “The card reader is a scientific method of accrediting voters. It helped in 2015. Card reader should be improved upon now so that the 2019 elections can be better in the interest of the country.” In his own submissions, another Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) Hakeem Afolabi, emphasized the need for a legislation to back up the use of card reader in the forthcoming election. Afolabi said: “The first thing to look at is whether or not there is any legislation in place that permits the use of card reader for the purpose of elections. In the last dispensation, the issue cropped up as to how do we do our accreditation and by the provision of the Electoral Act, it has been so provided that accreditation must be done by way of voters’ register. “The provision for card reader is not yet in our law and I think the National Assembly in an attempt to amend the Electoral Act is trying to see if there can be a legislation which could actually recognize card reader as one of the basis for accreditation. Unless and until it is done, using of card reader in the forthcoming election may be seen as illegal. I just hope that the necessary amendment can be done on the Electoral Act to bring in card reader as the basis of accreditation in the polls. The two chambers of the National Assembly should work together to carry out the necessary amendment while the president must append his signature for us to have a legislation backing the use of card reader in the coming elections. “If the card reader is eventually used in the 2019 elections, it would go a long way in checkmating the issue of corrupt practices in electioneering. More often than not, we see situations on an election day when people will come and all sorts of excuses will be given on the validity of the voters’ card brought to the voting center. “By and large, the card reader is a mechanism introduced to authenticate the genuineness of a voters’ card in possession of an electorate. Therefore, I think its usage in the election will go a long way in fencing out all those people who are falsely laying claim to the ownership of a voters’ card. Though its use is not a guarantee for free and fair elections but it will certainly help in overcoming some of the problems. Hence, if we can accommodate its use in our legislation, it would help in making the elections free, fair and credible. “Aside, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) should ensure better performance of the card readers this time around and avoid a repeat of the experience we had during the 2015 general election. Then, there were so many complaints about the card reader not even working in some areas. It’s either the battery is down or those to operate it are not knowledgeable enough to do so. Therefore, a lot needs to be done by INEC to sustain people’s confidence in the exercise.” In his own comments, a Lagos-based lawyer, Ituah Imhanze, also lauded INEC’s initiative saying it will go a long way in achieving a credible election. He said: “If you look at the antecedent of the past, it would be seen that the use of the card reader in elections have really helped and I have no doubt in my mind that it would also go a long way in achieving free, fair and credible elections in 2019. “However, if the cards must be deployed, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) should improve on the experience we had during the 2015 general election. The machines must be made to work optimally with little or no hitches. “Besides, the National Assembly should also hasten up efforts at putting a legislation that would back up the use of the card reader in place.”]]>