INEC Speaks On Poastal Voting Adoption Amid Calls For Flexibility Electoral System

The Independent National Electoral Commissioner (INEC) says the sociocultural and political dynamics and deplorable infrastructure in Nigeria will make postal voting a tall order

The electoral body said this in reaction to call by members of that public that INEC should consider introduction of postal voting ahead of the 2023 elections.

Festus Okoye, a national commissioner, In an interview with TheCable, said although the commission is committed to strengthening the use of technology in the electoral process, postal voting would require a “functional and robust postal system”.

Okoye, who is the chairman of INEC information and voter education committee, said the system would require amending the relevant electoral laws.

Okoye, however, told TheCable that Nigeria’s postal system is “not in the best shape” for electorate to vote by mail, and if that is addressed, another challenge would be amending the electoral act.

He said although the electoral act empowers INEC to determine electoral procedures, the commission is also restrained by parts of the law that prescribe specific routine for the conduct of elections.

Okoye said: “The commission has made elaborate recommendations to the national assembly to amend sections 48, 49,50, 53, 54 and other ancillary provisions to introduce electronic voting machines and other technological solutions in the electoral process.

“The commission will also embark on comprehensive and far reaching update of the existing voters register and the continuous registration of voters. The commission and the Nigerian people are attuned to the deepening of technology in the electoral process.

“We want to introduce electronic voting machines and gradually migrate to Internet voting and the use of other electronic platforms and solutions. Mail-in ballots and postal voting depend on a functional and robust postal system.

“Our postal system is not in the best shape and did not fundamentally upgrade in line with technological changes in the world. Even in advanced democracies, the postal system still struggles to cope with the volume of mail in ballots and postal voting.”

He said the chances of adopting mail-in ballots and postal voting in Nigeria is “rather remote” and will involve “a change in the electoral legal framework”.

By the same token, an official of the Nigerian Postal Service (NIPOST), who spoke with TheCable, said the service does not have the infrastructure to support postal vote in the next general election.

• What is postal voting? Ballot papers are mailed to voters who vote and return by post for onward transmission to the election centres. In the United States where almost half of the voters – 65 million people – voted by mail in the just concluded presidential election, the ballot papers, upon arrival at the processing centres, are photographed, converted to text and sorted