The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has disclosed that it has so far distributed about 1.5 million Permanent Voter Cards, PVCs, to registered voters in Bauchi State.
INEC’s administrative Secretary in Bauchi State, Mr Emmanuel Umenger, who disclosed this, said that the figure represented about 83.85 per cent of registered voters in the state.
Umenger spoke yesterday in Bauchi while commenting on the commission’s preparedness for the forthcoming general election, pointing out that the remaining 16.15 per cent would be distributed at the wards in the various local government areas of the state.
He said INEC had decided to decentralise the distribution of the PVCs to ensure that, all registered voters receive theirs before the polls.
According to him, INEC had started receiving non-sensitive materials like ballot boxes meant for the presidential election while those for governorship and other elections would be received soon.
He said: “INEC in its attempt to fast-track the process of accreditation which is usually burdensome is going to deploy card-readers which are hand-held devices with the ability to accredit a registered voter within two minutes.
“Once you come to the polling unit with your card, the device will scan it and all the data will show on the screen. It is a very small device that enables the voter to know if he or she has been accredited.
‘’If you have a ballot paper in constituency A for instance, you cannot take that same ballot paper to constituency B to cast your vote. The ballot papers this time around are colour coded and have some security features that are unique to that ward.
“Secondly, after the election results are announced at the polling units, copies will be made available to observers, police and party agents.”
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