THE Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has promised to improve in all aspects of its performance in the 2019 general election.
Meanwhile, the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has said that it will deploy technologies for INEC to ensure credible conduct of future elections in the country.
Speaking when the Director General of NITDA, Peter Jack paid her a courtesy visit in Abuja, Acting Chairman of INEC, Mrs Amina Zakari noted that achievements recorded in the 2015 general elections were made possible by the introduction of a number of electoral tools as well as the application of Information and Communication Technology in the management of the electoral process.
She identified some of them to include the use of Smart Card Readers (SCRs) for accreditation of voters, Election Risk Management (ERM) tools for identification and mapping of potential risks at flashpoints and activation of prompt remedial mechanisms”.
Zakari observed that as INEC commences a new electoral cycle, the commission and its staff are enthusiastic about having conversations, engagements and research with critical stakeholders that seek to provide useful insights and produce information that can deepen the understanding and deployment of new technologies in order to improve the electoral process.
Earlier, Jack said that the process of deployment of these technologies would precede the eNigeria Conference scheduled for November this year.
Jack, who was represented by a Director in the Agency, Dr. Vincent Olatunji, noted that eNigeria project would re-engineer the national electoral process through the adoption of high-tech electronic voting system.
According to him, the 2015 edition of eNigeria project is targeted at improving the electoral process through ICT development. “The aim is to use this platform to leverage on the experiences of other nations that have effectively deployed ICT to enhance credible and successful electoral processes in their countries and develop appropriate mechanism that would enhance our own electoral process in Nigeria.”
