The Use of the Card Reader by INEC Does not Contravene the Electoral Act, 2010

The news item on Page 3 of the Daily Trust Newspaper of Wednesday 18, 2015 read thus: “Election: Card Reader Violates electoral act-Senate”.

The story was based on the contribution of the Senate Leader, Victor Ndoma-Egba (SAN) on the floor of the Senate on a motion which came under consideration when Senate resumed plenary on Tuesday the 17th February 2015.

According to the Senate Leader, the use of card readers by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to accredit voters is contrary to Section 52 of the Electoral Act, 2010 (as amended).

Last week Campaign Office of President Good luck Jonathan had denounced and rejected the use of card reader and PVC for the 28thgeneral election scheduled for 28th March 2015 and 11th April 2015 respectively.

It is worthy to note that Victor Ndoma-Egba (SAN) is a member of the Peoples Democratic Party, the platform under which President Jonathan is contesting the presidential election scheduled for 28th March 2015.

The PDP has suddenly developed cold feet over the use of PVC and Card reader in conducting the scheduled election.

With due respect I vehemently disagree with Senator Victor Ndoma-Egba that the use of a card reader violates Section 52 of the Electoral Act.

Section 52 subsections 1, 2, 3 & 4 of the Electoral Act provide thus:

“(1) Voting at an election under this Act shall be by open secret ballot.

(2) The use of electronic voting machine for the time being is prohibited.

(3) A voter on receiving a ballot paper shall mark it in the manner prescribed by the Commission.

(4) All ballots at an election under this Act at any polling station shall be deposited in the ballot box in the open view of the public”.

It seems Victor Ndoma-Egba was alluding to subsection 2 of Section 52 of the Electoral Act which prohibits the use of electronic voting machine for the time being in voting.

It is my view that the card reader, INEC intends to use to ascertain whether or not a Permanent Voters’ Card belongs to a particular voter. Thus the use of a card reader does tantamount to an electronic voting machine contemplated by Section 52 subsection 2 of the Electoral Act; from whatever prism it is construed.

When the words used in a statute is clear it must be given its natural and ordinary meaning.

The phrase “electronic voting machine” used by the writers of Section 52 (2) of the Electoral Act is not the same as a card reader.

Section 16 (1) of the Electoral Act empowers INEC to issue a PVC to every voter that has his or her name in the National Voters Register.

Section 16 Of the Electoral Act provides that INEC shall design, cause to be printed and control the issuance of voters’ cards to voters whose names appear in the register.

What is a Card Reader?  According to Wikipedia, Card Reader is a data input device that reads data from a card shaped storage medium. Modern cars readers are electronic devices that can read plastic cards embedded with either a barcode, magnetic strip, computer chip or another storage medium.

The card reader is not intended to be use in voting. The whole essence of the card reader is to identify or authentic whether or not the biometric data inserted in a voter’s card truly belong to holder of that card whose name is in the card.

It objective is to stop electoral roguery that has become a recurring decimal in the chequered history of the country.

It is intended to prevent those who want to use voter’s card not belonging to another to vote.

It is imperative and in the interest of democracy that the political elite and political parties desist from interfering with the statutory responsibilities of INEC.