TheCable

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) says it will deploy a security application to monitor activities during the Anambra governorship election on November 6.

Mahmood Yakubu, INEC chairman, said this on Friday at a retreat in Keffi, Nasarawa, organised by the commission and the European Centre for Electoral Support (ECES) to review the operations of the Election Monitoring and Support Centre (EMSC).

The EMSC provides training, support, and the use of technology to ensure smooth operations of INEC during elections.

Yakubu said the development was necessary following the spate of attacks targeting the commission’s facilities in recent times, adding that the application will be integrated into the EMSC to avert potential threats to the Anambra governorship election.

“Something new and innovative that we are deploying for the Anambra poll is the security app in view of the recent attacks on our facilities across the country,” he said.

“When an election is conducted, there are thousands of interrelated activities happening across the country in far locations, and the commission must be in a position to effectively monitor these activities and like everything we do, we don’t just monitor manually but using technology.

“These tools have been of tremendous benefits or otherwise, how do you track the deployment of thousands of activities during elections.

“They are not new as we started deploying these tools since 2010 and we have used them for three general elections now.

“As a testimony to its robustness as an election management tool, many countries in the West African region and beyond have shown interest in studying and adopting the EMSC system for their use.”

The chairman said reviewing such technology would assist the commission in resolving its anticipated challenges before the 2023 general election.

Speaking on the electoral act amendment bill recently passed by the national assembly, Yakubu said the commission cannot immediately comment on its provisions until the lawmakers conclude the legislative process on the bill.

He, however, said the current electoral law is adequate enough for the commission to continue with the deployment of certain technologies.

“We don’t need any provision of law for instance for us to deploy EMSC or technology for voter registration. So, we will wait and see what eventually comes out from the national assembly for us to effectively comment,” he said.