Catholic Group Seeks Review Of Electoral Laws To Accommodate Electronic Voting
Nigeria April 3, 2015 Arodiegwu Eziukwu
Rev. Fr. Evaristus Bassey, Director, Church and Society of the Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria and Executive Secretary/CEO, of Caritas, Nigeria/JDPC
From Diana Okon-Effiong, Calabar
The Caritas Nigeria and Justice Development and Peace Commission (JPDC) has called for the review of electoral laws to accommodate electronic voting.
The group, an arm of the Catholic Church and a Non-Government Organisation also stated that the adoption of electronic voting would remove cases of fraud and rigging at polls.
Their views were articulated in a communique at the end of the group’s national meeting on March 22 to review the strategic plan of Caritas Nigeria and JDPC.
The communique signed by its Executive Secretary, Rev. Father Evaristus Bassey, stated that the PVCs and the Smart Card Readers are the best way to enhance a credible accreditation process and to help “to check the tendency of the average Nigerian to engage in electoral fraud”.
“The PVCs and the Smart Card Readers will therefore check impersonation, multiple voting, and ballot stuffing. The meeting therefore expressed confidence in INEC to conduct free, fair and credible elections”.
On security, Caritas called on security agencies not to intimidate people during the elections but to take necessary measures to protect lives and properties from hoodlums who are prone to violence.
It also charged voters “to be peaceful in their conduct and for those willing to stay back to witness the counting of votes in their PUs, to do so without rancor; however where there is risk to life, people should vote and go home peacefully”.
“Human beings are the same all over the world. The average Nigerian is not more corrupt than his counterpart in other parts of the world; the difference is in the efficiency of systems, processes and structures put in place to check behavior,” it stated.
It appealed to INEC “to reconsider the requirement that every single election observer should report to INEC State headquarters to collect his/her ID card, due to the current economic situation especially as some of the observers reside in distant and hard to reach areas.
Arodiegwu Eziukwu
