strategies to be adopted to prevent electoral crises (pre...
TRANSCRIPT
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African Training and Research
Centre in Administration for
Development
المركز اإلفريقي للتدريب
و البحث اإلداري لإلنماء
Centre Africain de Formation et de
Recherche Administratives pour le
Développement
Strategies to be adopted to prevent electoral crises (pre-, during and post)
in Africa
13 – 15 October 2014
Tangier, Kingdom of Morocco
TOPIC
Adoption of Best Practices in the
Registration of Voters as a Bold Step
Toward Free, Fair and Crises-free Elections
• Best Practices
Registration of Voters (Electronic/Biometric)
Electronic/Biometric Verification of Voters
by
Sir Ifeanyi Emma Odogwu 2
PRESENTATION PLAN
Why do we need a voters’ register?
What method do we adopt?
Who is a voter?
What does the voter need to know?
What does a voter need for identification?
What does a voter leave the registration centre with?
How are voters’ register verified?
Manual & Biometric Registration methods.
What are the challenges?
Voting.
Problems with manual Registration/Voting.
Why E-Voting?
Requirements for Biometric Electronic Technology.
Challenges of E-Voting.
Recommendations.
Conclusion. 3
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WHY DO WE NEED A VOTERS’ REGISTER?
(A chick that will develop into a cock starts from the egg)
To ensure that citizens who meet the legal requirements are able to take part in the electoral
process
To ensure strict adherence to the right to vote
For better electoral activities
To prevent multiple registration
To prevent registration by proxy
To prevent impersonation
WHAT METHOD DO WE ADOPT?
Periodic list
Civil registry
Continuous voter registration (CVR) (Adopted by Ghana,
Kenya, Tanzania & Nigeria. Nig recently conducted a CVR 4 those who 1)have just turned 18, 2) didn’t register during the last exercise 3) have their names on the Addendum List)
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Whichever method the State decides to adopt:
a) Should all those qualified be compelled to
register?
a) What identification will the voter require to be
registered?
a) What determines where the voter registers?
a) Why computerize registration of voters?
a) Choice of the registration system: What
determines it?7
What determines choice of
registration system
• The numerical strength of the voters to be
registered
• Time within which registration must be
completed
• Level of enlightenment: which method best
suits the local population?
• Available resources/human & material
resources
• Which method is the most realistic and cost
effective?8
WHO IS A VOTER?
Nationality of the voter
Residence(resident in the electoral area or permitted by law to register there)
Age
Criminal profile
Mental capacity/health
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WHAT DOES A VOTER NEED TO KNOW?
What he stands to benefit by registering
• What he stands to benefit by registering
The Commencement
date of registration
• The Commencement date of registration
The Closing datefor registration
• The Closing date for registration
Daily commencement &
closing time
• Daily commencement & closing time
What he needs to take to the regn
centre
• What he needs to take to the registration centre
Venue of the registration
• Venue of the registration
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WHAT DOES A VOTER NEED FOR
IDENTIFICATION?
Personal identification (Physical presence at the registration
centre)
Proof of nationality
Proof of ageProof of residence
(Register at the nearest registration point to his
residence)
Proof that he is free from multiple registration
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WHAT DOES A VOTER LEAVE THE REGN
CENTRE WITH?
(Where everything is in order and a voter is duly registered)
Voter ID card which he must wait and collect
Courtesy: EMBs Ghana 12
HOW IS VOTERS’ REGISTER VERIFIED?
By random checking
By display of Voters’
lists
By contacting
voters individually
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MANUAL & BIOMETRIC REGISTRATION
Manual registration
Biometric registration
1. Biometric registration is the modern thing
2. Prevents multiple registration
3. Prevents impersonation
4. Prevents registration by proxy (as the electronic device will interpret 2, 3 & 4 as multiple registration).
5. Largely minimises incidents of missing names
6. Makes transfer of registration easier.14
WHAT ARE THE CHALLENGES?
Generally
Pre-registration challenges
Registration challenges
Post-registration challenges
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CHALLENGES (cont’d)Pre-registration challenges
Inadequate training for the registration clerks (some of them cannot effectively operate the electronic biometric
equipment)
Inadequate information dissemination to voters
Irregular distribution of registration materials1. Poor road network 2. Intentional disenfranchisement
Our people’s apathy about elections
(de-motivated by the attitude of the political class)
Acceptability of the new registration sys by voters
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CHALLENGES (cont’d)
Registration challenges
Late or non delivery of Registration Materials
Difficulty in personal identification (age, residence, etc.)
Registration during farming seasons
Distance between registration point and farm
Time taken to register one voter
Religion (Male/female issues in Shari’a areas)
Case of amputees
Poor power supply
Corruption 18
CHALLENGES (cont’d)Post-registration challenges
Voters’ inability to keep registration/voting document i.e. Voter ID Card
Sale of Voters’ ID Cards [Poverty, No importance attached to VRC, Political
Opponents]
Lack of the capacity to maintain registration equipment after an election cycle
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VOTINGWho is qualified to vote?
A person registered to vote in the
election
• A person registered to vote in the election
Physically present at the polling centre
• Physically present at the polling centre
Has not voted earlier in the same
election
• Has not voted earlier in the same election
Has a personal Voter Id Card
• Has a personal Voter Id Card
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PROBLEMS WITH MANUAL REGN/VOTING
•Multiple registration
•Registration by Proxy
•Ballot box stuffing
•Omission of names from the VR
•Do we actually vote?
•Where we do, do our votes count?
•Etc.
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WHY ELECTRONIC VOTING?
(Voter Verification Technology [VVT])
This has been very strongly advocated especially for those
countries that registered biometrically.
Why electronic voting?
1. Ensures that those voting are those who should vote
2. Prevents multiple voting
3. Prevents impersonation
4. Prevents voting by proxy or ghost voting
5. Prevents balloting box stuffing
Can biometric registration solve the problem of loss
of voters’ cards? (majority of our voters can’t keep docs)
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REQUIREMTNTS FOR BIOMETRIC ELECTION
TECHNOLOGY
Careful planning/Planning ahead
Acceptance of the stakeholders: Needs assessment, acceptability & feasibility studies before introducing it
Heavy budget outlay (Tanz-$177m/Nig.-$600m)
Proper voter education (Min of Info/Civil Societies)
High level Competent/IT skill
Political will
Legal framework to support its use23
CHALLENGES OF E-VOTING
Poor Voter education/Awareness
Incompetence of Electoral Clerks/Officials
Cannot detect minors/under-aged
Cannot detect non-indigenes
Case of amputees
Political will {Politicians unwilling 2 welcome Voter Verification Tech (VVT)}
Financial implication (heavy budget outlay)
Corruption.24
RECOMMENDATIONS
•Considering the huge financial outlay involved in acquiring the
biometric registration technology and the voter verification
technology, it may not be economically possible to introduce
both technologies in the same electoral cycle. Ghana was advised
to limit the target for 2012 to “limited pilot trials” with “strong fall-back and
contingency plans”.
•Adequate training for EMB Staff, registration clerks and all
officers involved including election ad hoc workers.
•Ad hoc staff to be drawn from the respective communities where
registration is to be done.
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RECOMMENDATIONS (Cont’d)
Ministry of Information to ensure adequate information flow to educate the people
on why they must register as exercise of their civic and
democratic right to participate in the choice of
their leaders
• Min. of Information to ensure adequate information flow to educate the people that they must register and also vote as exercise of their civic & democratic right to participate in the choice of their leaders –not by force.
Provision of transport to convey voters to and fro
registration points
• Provision of transport to convey voters to & fro registration points/even for verification
Provision of adequate security • Provision of adequate security
Enforcement of penalty for electoral offences
• Enforcement of penalty for electoral offences
• Regular/Proper maintenance of Equipment26
CONCLUSION
• All over Africa people yearn for free, fair,
violence-free, reliable elections for the
enthronement of sustainable democracy. A good,
proper and reliable voters’ register is the first
positive step toward free and fair elections.
Unfortunately, electoral malpractices in rigging
and eventual declaration false elections results
start from registration of voters.
• In my view, electoral malpractices are avoidable
evils.
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CONCLUSION (cont’d)
• It is a question of having the proper reason as to
why one wants to win election as elections should
not be won at all costs. It must not be a do-or-die
affair. It must not be a fight to finish.
• We have not only lost properties worth billions of
Dollars, we have lost hundreds of thousands of our
men and women to crises arising from improper
attitude to election.
• With a positive change of attitude we imbibe
sustainable DEMOCRACY. We shall be there.
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REFERENCES
1. Alimeka, E. E. O.: Electoral Reform and Democratic Consolidation in Nigeria. Nigeria’s 50 Years of
Nation-Building: Stock-Taking and Looking Ahead, NIPSS, Kuru, 2011.
2. Ace, B: Biometric voter registration: What you should know, Ghana Magazine;
3. Alves, M. H.: Voters Registration; African Administrative Studies, No. 61, 2003.
4. Idowu, K. R.: 2014: Electoral Tasks Ahead; http://www.inecnigeria.org/?inecnew=2014-tasks-ahead visited
19th Sept, 2014.
5. Laanela, T.: Elections and Technology; African Administrative Studies, No. 61, 2003.
6. Ace Facilitators: Biometric Voter Verification in Ghana.
7. The Election Act, 2011 of Kenya.
8. Interim Independent Electoral Commission (IIEC) Kenya
9. The Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended).
10. The Constitution of Kenya (Chapter 6).
11. The Electoral Act, 2011 of Nigeria.
12. African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance, 2007.
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