By Alex O. Akpodiete Atawa
We are less than two weeks from the first leg of the 2015 General Elections, which is the Presidential and National Assembly polls. The ubiquitous issues of Permanent Voters Card (PVC), Temporal Voters Card (TVC) and the new card readers are everywhere. Proponents of use of the PVC say it is full proof, especially when coupled with the card readers. The unanswered question is how you guarantee that only those accepted by the card reader are the ones that vote. In other words, is there an electronic reconciliation process? If there is, then we are into the territory of the unconstitutional electronic voting. Subsection (1) of Section 52 of the 2010 Electoral Act of the Federal Republic of Nigeria states: (a) Voting at an election under this Bill shall be by open secret ballot. (b) The use of electronic voting machine for the time being is prohibited.
On the other hand, those clamouring for a return to TVC will have to proffer a solution to those that have traded their TVC for PVC, along with allegations that in the 2011 elections, there was voting by proxy.
Either way, the matter will probably have to be resolved in court. To quote the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Attahiru Jega, the postponement is then a blessing in disguise. It then buttresses the point that INEC was never really ready to conduct elections on February 14, 2015. Training of ad-hoc staff on the use of the PVC was done after the postponement, including more production of PVCs. Prior to the postponement, only about sixty percent of PVCs were collected. As of the time of this writing, we now hear that 81% e eligible voters have collected their PVCs. The news is as follows: The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has revealed that a total of 12, 929,204 Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) are yet to be collected. According to an update on the breakdown of PVCs collected so far by the Chief Press Secretary to the INEC Chairman, Kayode Idowu, a total of 55,904,272 million or 81.22 per cent has been distributed out of 68,833,476 million PVCs produced. According to INEC, the figure released was based on the number of PVCs collected as of March 12. Following the rescheduling of the general elections, INEC had extended the deadline for collection of PVCs till March 8 with a further extension announced last Sunday till March 22, which is six days to the presidential election.”
While it is expected that there will be more PVCs collected in the next seven days, there is still concerns that some PVCs have not been produced, So, the 12, 929,204 Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) are yet to be collected may actually be larger. As it stands, at least 19% of registered voters are yet to collect their cards.
Coupled with the allegations of lopsided low collection of PVCs in the South as compared to the North, INEC must rectify this apparent marginalization of Southern Nigerians, if it is substantiated. It was revealed a few days ago that an entire four (4) LGAs in Edo State have yet to receive their PVCs from INEC for collection. One cannot help but ponder the rationale for this clear deprivation of the peoples right of suffrage.
There have been complaints about the functionality of the PVC readers, especially when subjected to a long period of use. Also, the slowness of the process may cause the accreditation to go beyond the 1pm scheduled time. On March 16, the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and fifteen other parties, will learn the outcome of their challenge to the use of the Permanent Voters card (PVC) and the card readers. Notwithstanding the court cases, it is our hope that INEC, after the controversial field tests, will tweak any apparent and perceived weakness to ensure there are no hitches on March 28th to avoid any postponement.
I strongly believe that the average Nigerian does not want another postponement. The mantra of Free fair and credible elections may vanish into the wind, if there is another postponement, even if it still within the ambit of the law. To quote a particular party Chieftain, postponement of the election is like postponing Christmas. At the end of the day, New Year must still come. Nigerians prepare to vote in a few days and vote your conscience. Also, hang around after voting to protect your vote and hear the actual results.
Whether transformation or change, Nigeria is moving forward and we all must play our part. If you do not collect your PVC and vote, then shut up when the country faces problems.
Rev. Atawa, a public Affairs Analyst, is the Lead Pastor of Holy Rock Tabernacle in Asaba. Contact him on 08138391661 or Profatawa@gmail.com.
