Our top editorial this moment comes from the Premium Times with a message in view of the seemingly much awaited Nigeria’s 2023 Elections and a deserving voting pattern. The story reads:
As the Conference Committee of the National
Assembly begins harmonising the Electoral Act Amendment Bill, PREMIUM TIMES
deems it necessary to reiterate the need to pass an electoral law that would
fully accommodate both electronic voting and the electronic transmission of
results. We are firmly convinced that such step would safeguard Nigeria’s
democracy.
The main purpose of the Conference Committee is to reconcile the two versions of the Amendment Bill as respectively passed by the Senate and the House of Representatives.
Whereas
the House of Representatives’ version of Clause 52 gives the Independent
National Electoral Commission (INEC) the power to determine the procedure for
voting and transmission of election results, the Senate’s version states that
INEC can only do so with the approval of the National Communications Commission
(NCC). Understandably, civil society organisations (CSOs) have drawn attention
to the fact that the Senate’s version would compromise the independence of
INEC, and is thus contrary to public and national interest. We agree with the
CSOs and urge the committee to integrate both electronic voting and the
electronic transmission of results in the Electoral Amendment Bill. Our reasons
are not far-fetched.
Electronic
voting or e-voting is the use of electronic machines to aid in voting and
counting. It works with either computers connected to the Internet or an
Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) that records votes by means of a ballot
display. The EVM is a computerised box-like machine that comes with an
attaching ballot box, where generated ballots drop in that voters use to cast
their vote.
Curtesy, the Premium Times.
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