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Tag: 2019 Election

  • 2019 Election: INEC to deliver election results real-time

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has said it will collaborate with Nigerian Communications Satellites Limited (NIGCOMSAT) to transmit results of the 2019 general elections in real-time.

    INEC chairman Professor Mahmood Yakubu made this known when he and a delegation team from the commission visited NIGCOMSAT operation base in Abuja on Wednesday.

    The chairman and his team were taken on a tour of the Satellite Control Center, Network Operating Center, Broadband, Navigation, Innovation & Design unit and Direct-To-Home Center of the NIGCOMSAT.

    Professor Yakubu and members of the commission were received by the MD/Chief Executive Officer NIGCOMSAT, Mrs.Abimbola Alale.

    The INEC chairman expressed satisfaction with the products and services of NIGCOMSAT, and gave the assurance of the collaboration between the two organizations in carrying out the activities of e-collation and transmission of election results real time during the 2019 elections.

    He said that through NIGCOMSAT’s satellite and connectivity provided by telecom operators, the results of elections of each of the 119,973 polling units nationwide would be electronically transmitted on the spot and real time, including the scanned images of result sheets.

    The INEC chairman also said the commission wants NIGCOMSAT to help in voter education through electronics message display as the 2019 elections draw near.

    “It is for this reason that we wish to leverage on the capacity of NIGCOMSAT to provide a wide range of telecommunication services.

    “In particular, your broadband service offers a tremendous flexible bandwidth capacity that can be deployed almost anywhere and in a short period of time, including hard-to-reach and temporary locations.

    “These are invaluable to the work of INEC. Working with you and in partnership with the NCC as well as the telecommunications operators, we believe the challenges to the seamless transmission of results are not insurmountable”, he said.

    The INEC chairman said the commission is deepening its application of technology to elections hence the partnership with NIGCOMSAT.

    “INEC would continue to make available the hard copies of results sheets to political party agents at each polling unit and collation centres against which the integrity of the electronically-transmitted results can be compared, verified and authenticated.

    “Further, and in keeping with our current practice, a copy of the result for each election shall be pasted at the polling units immediately after the counting of ballots for public knowledge and accountability,” he added.

    In her remarks, the Ms Alale said NIGCOMSAT was ready to partner with INEC in transmitting election result to every nook and cranny of Nigeria.

    NIGCOMSAT’s Sat1-R, she said, is capable of covering and transmitting live and real time all that transpire during the election.

    TheNewsGuru reports INEC visit to NIGCOMSAT is part of continuous consultation with national bodies to deepen the application of technology for the upcoming 2019 general elections.

    Yakubu and his team also visited some voters’ registration centres in Abuja to monitor the progress of the exercise.

     

  • Obasanjo reveals intention for ‘Preferred Candidate’, speaks on Coalition for Nigeria

    Former President Olusegun Obasanjo on Wednesday has said he was not backing any candidate for political office in 2019.

    Obasanjo was speaking during a courtesy visit by a youth group from Delta State, led a governorship aspirant, Frank Ufuoma Esanubi, at the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library, in Abeokuta, Ogun State, when he said he would remain an elder statesman with passion for a greater Nigeria.

    He also noted that his Coalition for Nigeria Movement (CNM) was to galvanize Nigerians to appreciate their interests and power.

    “In the year 2015, I said I would no longer participate in partisan politics. And I still stand by my decision.

    “Everybody, irrespective of his or her political affiliation is free to come here for advice, I will gladly do that.

    “I have no candidate, whatsoever, for any political office. I just believe that things must be done differently in Nigeria to get different result.

    “If you study our transitions since the colonial era, they have all taken place without taking the people of the grassroots into consideration. So, CNM is about the people at the grassroots.

    “It is a socio-economic movement where youth and women, especially, will be given opportunity to appreciate their interests and power. Unlike before, I believe we must put the horse before the cart.

    “If the system and the platform sync, I believe Nigeria will get there. And like I said, the moment the Coalition gets involved in candidate sponsoring or participates in partisan politics, I will opt out of it,” he said.

     

  • 2019: Details of new Electoral Act emerge as Reps change order of elections

    The House of Representatives on Tuesday amended the Electoral Act to change the order of 2019 general elections’ time table.

    This came barely a month after the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) released the time-table for the general elections.

    With the amendment, the National Assembly election is to hold first, followed by gubernatorial and state assembly polls and presidential election to be conducted last.

    The amendment was made at the Committee of the whole House, presided by the Deputy Speaker, Mr Yussuff Lasun.

    The lawmakers amended the Act while considering the report of the House Committee on Electoral Matters which proposed amendment of the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended).

    In the time-table released by INEC, Presidential and National Assembly elections were to hold first, while governorship and state assembly would follow.

    The House amended section 25 of the Principal Act and substituted it with a new section 25 (1).

    According to the section, the elections shall be held in the following order: (a) National Assembly election (b) State Houses of Assembly and Governorship elections (c) Presidential election.

    Similarly, section 87 was amended by adding a new section 87 (11) with a marginal note “time for primaries of political parties”.

    “The primaries of political parties shall follow the following sequence (i) State House of Assembly (ii) National Assembly (iii) Governorship, and (iv), President.

    “The dates for the above stated primaries shall not be held earlier than 120 days and not later than 90 days before the date of elections to the offices.”

    The House also amended section 36 to allow running mate of candidate that dies before the conclusion of elections inherit his votes and continue with the process.

    Section 35 which states that if before an election a candidate dies, he will be replaced by the next contestant with the highest vote was also amended.

    The amendment indicated that if a nominated candidate died in the election process, the next person from the same political party with the second highest votes in the primary election should replace the deceased.

    It stated that the name of the new person should be submitted to INEC, which should accept such replacement as if the deceased was alive.

    The House also made an increment in the limitation of election expenses to be incurred by candidates for presidential candidates from N1 billion to N5 billion.

    It raised the governorship bill from N200 million to N1 billion, while Senatorial and Representatives candidates’ expenses are not to exceed N100 million and N70 million, respectively.

    For State Assembly and local government chairmanship elections, candidates’ expenses had been raised from N10 million to N30 million while councillorship candidates ceiling was raised from N1 million to N5 million.

    Similarly, individual contribution had been jerked up from N1 million to N10 million.

     

  • News Hour: Buhari will get more votes in 2019 than 2015, says Okorocha I TNGtv

  • Prisoners will participate, vote in 2019 election, says INEC

    Prisoners will participate, vote in 2019 election, says INEC

    The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC says it is making arrangements with the Nigeria Prisons Service to ensure that prisoners are allowed to vote in the 2019 general elections.

    The Chairman of INEC, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, said this in Abuja on Tuesday at a dialogue session with the Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room Dialogue – a coalition of over 70 civil society organisations in Nigeria.

    The development comes three years after a Federal High Court in Benin, Edo State, ruled that prisoners in Nigeria have the right to vote in all elections conducted in the country.

    The INEC boss said the commission was looking at the possibility of creating polling units in Nigerian prisons to allow some categories of inmates to vote.

    He, however, said certain categories of prisoners would not be allowed to vote depending on the nature of the crimes they committed.

    Yakubu said, “We have already engaged the Comptroller-General of Prisons and we have statistics on the number of prisoners nationwide and the number of inmates that are registered. We are looking at the possibility of creating polling units in the prisons and to enable some categories of prisoners to vote.

    “Ghana does it but there are some categories of prisoners who by the nature of crimes committed lose the right to vote. Whatever we can do to open up the process to ensure that as much as possible Nigerians are given the opportunity to vote, will be done.”

    Also speaking on the forthcoming Anambra governorship election, the INEC boss said the commission would do everything to ensure that the election is not inconclusive.

    Yakubu raised the alarm over the wrongful substitution of names of governorship candidates by two political parties ahead of the governorship election.

    He regretted that the high level of non-compliance to the Electoral Act by the political parties was threatening the electoral system.

    Although the INEC boss declined to name the parties involved in the wrongful substitution of candidates’ names, he warned that if the act was eventually challenged in court, the whole election could be voided on that account and the nation made to bear the financial brunt of conducting a fresh election.

    The Executive Director, Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre, and Convener of Situation Room, Clement Nwankwo, said the event was organised to find out the commission’s preparations for the forthcoming Anambra State governorship poll as well as other elections update.

  • 2019 Election: Nigerian develops app for electronic voting

    2019 Election: Nigerian develops app for electronic voting

    Mr Shamah Abubakar, a graduate of Bingham University, Karu, has invented an electronic election application that can improve the electoral process in the Nigeria.

    The President of the University’s Alumni, Mr Haruna Yusuf, said the application called E-Franchise app was invented with the support of the Alumni.

    Haruna said during the Alumni’s election in March, the app was used for the electoral process and proved to be a success with members voting and monitoring the electoral process from beginning till the end from their diverse locations.

    “When we held our elections earlier this year, it was what we used and it was a success. Every member of the alumni voted electronically and the process was free and fair.

    “Every member monitored the process from wherever they were. You don’t have to be physically gathered in one spot to hold an election. For us, we have active members in the diaspora who have voting rights. So this app helped us not to infringe on their rights,” He said.

    The Alumni president, however, revealed that the app is not immuned from setbacks especially hacking hence the recruitment of young anti hackers to thwart the effort of hackers during the alumni election.

    “We had anti hackers on standby who made sure no strange activity tampered with the app during the election from start to finish and every member monitored voting and counting till the end. Till date, no one has complained of foul play,” He said.

    He also revealed that the Alumni has reached out to Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), members of the National Assembly and other relevant stakeholders to look into adopting the app for the 2019 general elections.

    According to him, electronic voting would not only reduce foul play, it would reduce the huge cost of conducting manual voting system and release results as soon as they come in just as it is done in advanced countries.

    He said the Alumni was willing to collaborate with relevant government bodies to work to transition Nigeria towards electronic form of voting through its E-franchise app.