Card reader failure: INEC okays manual accreditation

The INEC has given approval for its officers to accredit voters manually after being sufficiently satisfied that the Permanent Voter Card belongs to a prospective voter presenting it. In a statement by INEC’s Chairman, Information, Voter Education and Publicity Committee, Dr. Chris Eyimoga, on Saturday, the commission said this step was informed by the level of challenges encountered in the Saturday elections to accredit prospective voters. Iyimoga said, “The Commission has, therefore, decided as part of the Guidelines for the Conduct of the 2015 general elections that in Polling Units where card readers have so failed to work, the Presiding Officer shall manually accredit voters by marking the register of voters, upon being satisfied that the person presenting a Permanent Voter’s Card is the legitimate holder of the card.”