INEC To Conduct ‘Mock’ Election Before March 28 To Test Run Card Reader Machines

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) plans to conduct a ‘mock’ election to publicly test run its Smart Card Reader (SCR) machines, an official of the commission has revealed. 

The public test run is part of INEC’s efforts to demonstrate the efficiency of the Permanent Voters Cards (PVCs) before the scheduled March 28 presidential election, said Olusegun Agbaje, the Ondo State resident electoral commissioner (REC). He disclosed that INEC plans to hold the ‘mock’ election in twelve states, including Ondo, Lagos and Ekiti in the southwest region.

Mr. Agbaje disclosed the commission’s plans on Tuesday at a “peace accord” meeting convened by the police in Akure, the Ondo State capital. He said the ‘mock’ election had already been slated for Saturday in Lagos and would be carried out by trained officers as a replica of normal elections. He said the idea was to determine how efficient the Smart Card Machines (SCRs) would be for the polls.

The REC remarked that the machines, when fully charged, would work for 12 hours, adding that the commission has back ups for each unit in the state. He stated that the back up machines would have fully charged batteries in case there was a need for any replacement.

...SaharaReporters