ELECTIONS 2015: INEC will use biometric register – REC

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Thursday reiterated its resolve to use the biometric (electronic) register for the 2015 general elections. Mrs Gesila Khan, the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in Rivers, stated this during the commission’s interactive session with leadership of political parties in Port Harcourt. Khan said that the electronic register would effectively reduce electoral fraud and other forms of electoral malpractices, NAN reports. ‘’INEC is set to use a biometric register in February 2015 general elections putting aside the manual register used in 2011. ‘’To actualise this, the commission subjected voters’ register used in the last registration to Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS) for eliminating double registration,’’ she said. The REC, who called on political parties to support the use of card reader machine, explained that it was a roadmap towards a credible election. She said that the biometric register was the only panacea against inflation of figures and other malpractices. She urged political parties to always ensure that credible persons represented them as agents in all the elections. The REC, who absolved INEC of any plot to rig the elections, blamed rigging on political parties. She said that the success of 2015 general elections depended solely on the sincerity and patriotism of political parties to drive a generally acceptable election. According to her, the task of conducting credible elections is not the responsibility of INEC alone, but a collective effort of all stakeholders, especially political parties. Also speaking, Mr Oliver Wolugbom, the Director of National Orientation Agency (NOA) in the state, called on political parties to work in synergy with INEC for a credible and peaceful election.