PDP, Others Oppose Use Of Card Readers For Polls

PDP, Others Oppose Use Of Card Readers For Polls

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Presidential Campaign Organisation and some political Parties have rejected the use of card
readers during the forthcoming general elections, that had been
shifted to March 28 and April 11.

In an interview with media in Abuja on Wednesday, the
spokesman for the PDP Presidential Campaign Organisation, Mr
Femi Fani-Kayode, said the ruling party would resist moves to go ahead with the use of card readers during the elections.

At a separate news conference, representatives of some political Parties also
expressed their opposition to the use of card readers for the elections as they
said it had not been tested and as such could not be trusted.
According to the group, the use of card readers is a ploy to disenfranchise
citizens in the coming elections.
Mr Fani-Kayode said that the position of the PDP on the issue was not different,
stressing that the ruling party would resist the use of card readers during the
elections.
“Our position remains that the machine has not been tested in any election and
there are basis for joining concerns over the use of the for the first time in a
crucial election of this magnitude.
“We are aware of plots by the APC to use the card readers to frustrate
accreditation in some part of the country while not enforcing strict use of the
machine in other parts,” he said.
At first, it was the representatives of 15 political parties that threatened to
boycott the elections and take legal action if the Independent National Electoral
Commission (INEC) insisted on the use of card readers during the elections.
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressives Congress (APC)
had earlier opposed a suit challenging the decision by the Independent National
Electoral Commission (INEC) on the use of the electronic Permanent Voters
Cards (PVCs) in the general elections.
The suit was filed by the Society for Advancement and Protection of Public
Rights (SAPPR) and it came up for mention at the Federal High Court in Abuja,
on Monday.
It is challenging the power of the INEC to use of the electronic voting system
without legislation by the National Assembly.
But the PDP now kicks against the use of the card reader.
The INEC, through the National Director in charge of Information and Voter
Education, Dr Chris Iyimoga, noted that the commission would conduct a field
testing of the card readers, which would be deployed for the accreditation of
voters in the forthcoming general elections to reduce electoral frauds.
The Commission, which said it had satisfactorily tested the card readers before
the re-scheduling of the elections, had set aside March 7, to rigorously test the
card readers technology in two states of each geo-political zone, to ensure its
mastery before the elections.