Card Readers: INEC To Hold Mock Elections In 12 States

As part of arrangement to ensure the effectiveness of the Permanent
Voters' Card (PVCs) Card Reader Machines, the Independent National
Electoral Commission will now hold mock elections in 12 states before
the presidential elections slated for March 28.

The 12 states have been selected from all the geopolitical zones in the country.

Disclosing this at the signing of a Peace accord by political parties
held in Akure today, the Ondo State Capital, the State Resident
Electoral Commissioner (REC), Mr. Segun Agbaje disclosed that Lagos
and Ekiti have been selected for the mock elections and the event
would come up this Saturday.

Agbaje explained that "at the mock elections, the commission would
make use of the PVCs and card readers alone. It is to be displayed to
the people and to also look at how effective the machines will work on
the election day. There is no going back on the usage of PVCs. The
Card readers if fully charged, can work up to 10 to 12 hours and we
have back up machines for each unit and fully charged batteries.

"12 states have been selected for the mock elections and in South
West, the mock elections will be conducted in Lagos and Ekiti States.
This is to test the effectiveness of the machines before general
elections".

The REC also added that 78.2 percent of the PVCs had been collected so
far in the state.

On the preparation of the INEC for the polls, Agbaje said over 14,000
ad hoc staff had been trained for the polls.

He added that the commission would be making use of over 10,000
security operatives for the polls.

"A committee called Inter agency Cooperative Committee under the
leadership of the police Commissioner and REC has been set up. It
comprises of security operatives and INEC officers. We have been
meeting on several times and we will continue to meet until election
day.

"We have Registration Area Centres in all the collation centres in the
207 wards in the state. That is where our ad hoc staff and security
operatives will be a day before the elections. We are expecting them
to move from that area to the polling unit. We are targeting 98
percent commencement time in the poll.

"In Osun we have 96 percent commencement time and we want to improve
on that in Ondo State", the REC said.
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