launched a Quick Count methodology ahead of the 2015 general elections
in February.
According to the Group, the method will help election observers send
reports via coded text messages as they happen in polling stations
across Nigeria.
The method is also expected to prevent multiple voting and
post-elections violence during the 2015 general elections.
Speaking during inauguration ceremony in Abuja, Chairman of the Group,
Mr. Ibrahim Zikirullahi, said apart from striving to prevent fraud and
build confidence in the citizenry, the Quick Count, would help to
"determine whether election processes are genuinely democratic".
He added that "through the TMG Quick Count, non-partisan citizen
observers will deploy to a random representative sample of polling
units across the country to report on the opening, accreditation,
voting and counting processes during election day, as well as collect
voting results and voter turnout figures.
"The heart of Quick Count rests on establishing a representative,
random sample of polling units. This means that observers will deploy
to LGAs in the same proportion as there are polling units located in
each LGA."
The integrity of the process is however based on the neutrality and
objectivity of observers in the field. While percentage of error in
past trial of the method was minimal, officials said they are working
hard not to compromise the process.
Mr Zikirullahi, who said the method employs Information Communication
Technology in its operation, added that "during the Quick Count,
observers watch the accreditation, voting and counting processes as
well as the conduct of electoral stakeholders such as INEC officials,
political party agents and the security forces.
"The observers record this information on standardised forms and
report their findings to evaluate the overall quality of the election
day process.
"The observers send in the reports via coded text messages at various
intervals during the day, which allows TMG to rapidly collate and
analyse in real time the quality of the election as it unfolds."
At the event on Tuesday, the 37 state coordinators and 111 deputy
coordinators selected from various senatorial districts across the
country, who would coordinate the project at their various domains
also pledged to be neutral and objective while carrying out their
tasks.
Meanwhile, the Independent National Electoral Commission said it would
monitor activities of independent observers during the elections to
avoid feeding the public with inaccurate reports.
A representative of the election monitoring body, who was at the
launch of the Quick Count, said "we have observed that not all
observer groups have the financial muscle to train all its field
workers, so what the commission has done in partnership with IFES is
to undertake a training of trainers. We train their own trainers
before they deploy their observers to the field. This we will do to
all observer cost at no cost to all observer groups", he said.
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