INEC on Monday
released the regulations and guidelines for the conduct of the general
elections. The 33 pages document obtained by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in
Abuja, said Smart Card Readers (SCRs) and Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs)
would be used for the forthcoming elections.
It reads, “Voting shall be in accordance with the Continuous
Accreditation and Voting System (CAVS) procedures as specified in these
Regulations and Guidelines, the Election Manual and any other Guide
issued by the Commission.
“No person shall be allowed to vote at any Polling Unit/Voting Point
Settlement/Voting Point other than the one at which his/her name appears
in the Register of Voters and he/she presents his/her permanent voter’s
card to be verified by the Smart Card Reader (SCR), or as otherwise
determined by the Commission.”
It added that each voter shall cast his/her vote in person at the
Polling Unit/Voting Point Settlement/Voting Point where he/she
registered or was assigned, in the manner prescribed by the Commission.
It also stated that separate queue shall be created between men and
women, where the culture does not allow the mingling of men and women.
It added that Presiding Officers would also create a separate queue for People Living With Disabilities (PWDs).
According Section 10 (b) of the guidelines, “accreditation and voting
shall commence at 8.00am and close at 2:00pm, provided that all voters
already on the queue by 2:00pm shall be allowed for accreditation and
voting.
“(d) The accreditation process shall comprise reading of the
Permanent Voter’s Card (PVC) and authentication of the voter’s
fingerprint using the SCR; checking of the Register of Voter.”
Section 11 (v) of the guidelines also requested a voter to remove
his/her cell phone or any photographic device before proceeding to
voting cubicle.
Also section 11(c) stated that “where a voter’s PVC is read but the
name of the voter is not on the Register of Voters, APO II shall refer
the voter to the PO or APO (VP) who shall politely request the voter to
leave the Polling Unit”.
Section 11(d) also states that: “In the event that the PVC fails to
be read by the Smart Card Reader, the APO I shall refer the voter to the
PO or APO (VP) who shall politely request the voter to leave the
Polling Unit.’’
Subsection (e) added that “where a voter’s PVC is read and the SCR
shows the details of another person, rather than the details of the
cardholder as printed on the PVC, the APO I shall:
“(i) Refer the voter to APO II to confirm that the details of the
voter in the Register of Voters correspond to those on the PVC;
“(ii) APO II if satisfied that the holder of the card is on the
Register of Voters, shall record the phone number of the voter in the
appropriate box on the Register of Voters; and
“(iii) Proceed with the accreditation of the voter.
“(f) In all cases from 11(b) to 11(e), the Presiding Officer shall
fill the appropriate forms in the PU booklet and make a report.
“Affected voters in 11(b) and 11(e) qualify to be issued ballot papers after consultation with Polling Agents.”