MID-WEEK ESSAY: Why INEC Does Not Need All These Direct Data Capture Machines (DDCMs)
By
Mobolaji E. Aluko, PhD
Burtonsville, MD, USA
October 13, 2010
INTRODUCTION
According to INEC's Chairman Prof. Attahiru Jega, his commission needs about 120,000 DDCMs – one per polling unit doubling as registration centers - in order to be able to register anew an estimated total of 70 million voters in preparation for the expected-to-be-watershed 2011 elections. Each DDCM consists of a laptop, a web-camera, a scanner and a printer (not to mention printer and scanner cartridges and paper (both special and ordinary)) Each is valued to be no more than $2,000 each. Each registration center is expected to be manned by three INEC personnel.
There are currently four "minor" logistical problems currently bedeviling this enterprise – and money, at N78 billion, already granted and transferred to INEC coffers, thanks to the speedy action of the National Assembly with support by the Presidency - is not one of them. As of today October 13, 2010:
1. The 120,000 registration centers have not been identified.
2. The 360,000 personnel have been recruited
3. The 120,000 DDCMs have not been ordered. [Actually 132,000 are to be ordered.]
4. An extension of time by electoral law which INEC seeks from the National Legislature has not been granted.
According to latest information:
QUOTE
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has proposed that the next presidential election should be held by April 9, 2011 while the much-awaited voters registration exercise should hold in January 2011.
This was contained in a letter signed by INEC's chairman, Professor Attahiru Jega, to the Senate dated September 29, 2010, on the proposed schedule for 2011 elections as the lawmakers are warming up to consider amendments to the 2010 Electoral Act to create more time for adequate preparations for the elections.
In his letter, Professor Attahiru Jega said, "The extension of time sought will enable the Commission to have more time to train ad-hoc staff for the registration exercise and for the conduct of the 2011 elections. The commission will also gain more time to engage in intensive voter education campaign."
The INEC boss added that if the extension is approved, "The Commission will have enough time to plan the logistics of deploying staff and materials to all the registration centres and polling units across the country. There will be more time for political parties to conduct their affairs, particularly primaries in the light of far-reaching changes in the new Electoral Act."
The proposal by INEC indicated that a 15-day registration of voters would begin on January 8, and display the register 'for claims and objections' between January 27 and February 2, 2011.
The fresh timetable, which INEC calls its 'preferred option' also shows that conduct of party primaries should begin at any moment approved but should be concluded by December 31, 2010.
Collection of Form CF002 (Personal particulars of candidates), and Form CF002 (List of party candidates) is fixed for December 15 to 22, 2010.
If the Senate accepts the timetable, the National Assembly election would now hold on April 2, 2011; to be followed by presidential election on April 9, and then governorship and state assembly elections on April 16.
INEC says runoffs for governorship and presidential elections, if any, would be held within seven days after the announcement of the result of the respective elections.
INEC has often justified its request for more time by the need to compile a credible register of voters and prepare well for the elections. The Commission said it lost valuable time between when it was inaugurated and when President Goodluck Jonathan signed the Electoral Act 2010 into law.
UNQUOTE
But will the three month extension to April 2011 – even if all the above logistical problems are cleared – mean that 70 million voters (or even 40 million, to be more conservative) will be registered within another stipulated two-week period that strts in January 2011? My answer is "mathematically and practically impossible." 70 million registered voters implies roughly 6,000 per registration center. For a ten-day two-week period, that requires on average 60 voters registered per day per polling station. For an eight-hour-per-day period with one machine per registration center, that means that each registration would require a minimum of 10 minutes – to ask, verify and enter (by hand or by typing into a computer) name and other personal information, finger print, take a webcam picture, print a card and hand same to the registrant, in addition to bantering a little.
That would be a tall order, not only because of the time constraints noted above, but the very difficult task of motivating 70 million people anywhere in the world to VOLUNTARILY go out and do ANYTHING within a two-week period, even in a developed country, not to talk of a developing country like Nigeria.
HOW TO REGISTER MAXIMUM NUMBER OF VOTERS
Clearly, what we need to ensure MAXIMUM number of registrants are three issues:
1. Longer registration period - like three months, which should start RIGHT AWAY, like TOMORROW.
2. Less face time by a registrant at a registration center (for example, like doing away with finger-printing);
3. Less dependence completely on these yet-to-be-ordered DDCMs, if at all.
Increasing the period for registration to three months (12 weeks) instead of 2 weeks means on average 10 voters registered per day per polling unit, and certainly far more time for each for a thorough job to be done. In addition, we should do away with finger-printing: I do not believe that finger-prints belong in a voter's card since on Election Day, finger-print identification machines will not be used anyway to identify and permit voters to cast their ballots. After all, post-election forensic analysis of fingerprints is NOT to identify voters, but rather to identify MULTIPLE identical fingerprints in votes – so what would voter finger prints be useful for in that case?
PHOTO-IDENTIFICATION – WHY MUST IT BE ISSUED BY THESE DDCMS?
Perhaps the crucial point of this essay is the following suggestion: to register just the names and some personal information of the registrants, but do away almost completely with the webcam and card-printing aspects of these DDCMs, replacing them with use of existing photo-IDs and printing of bar-codes which are then affixed to those existing photo-IDs. Why must we take pictures anew and issue a photo-ID ALL OVER AGAIN just for voting, when we can PRINT bar-codes (of the one- or two-dimensional variety), and use them (by affixation) to VALIDATE existing photo-IDs such as:
1. Voter IDs used in 2007 elections
2. National ID cards (see information in the Appendix)
3. Drivers Licenses
4. Travel Passports
5. Employee Cards
6. School ID cards
7. Hospital Admission Card
8. Other Government-approved ID cards
Provided that these stated documents above have clear names, clear passport-size pictures and identification number on them, they should serve as photo-ID on Election Day, while the affixed bar-code will serve as proof of their INEC's (re-)validation for 2011. Why do we have to spend money all over again for these photo-IDs? Why spend such valuable money on so many DDCMs. Why not spend the money instead on less expensive, more battery-friendly hand-held bar-code readers on Election Day – not to talk of digital cameras and audio recorders also on Election Day?
Note that I am not asking that the databases for the Voter IDs or National IDs, etc. be adopted by INEC, rather that their photo-IDs are suitable as done elsewhere in the world, eg in my state of Maryland, USA:
QUOTE
https://www.raiseyourvote.com/content/MD/en/
What to bring when you go to vote
When you go to vote, there are a few things you should bring.
When you go to vote, there are a few things that you should make sure to bring with you. While many states do not require you to show ID when you vote, it's always a good idea to bring some type of identification and proof of residency, such as a utility bill addressed to you.
If you are a first-time voter, you should be prepared to show ONE of the following forms of ID: a current and valid photo ID, such as a driver's license; or a current utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck, or other government document that shows your name and address.
First-time voters in Maryland who registered by mail must bring ONE of the following: * A valid photo ID, or * Current utility bill, or * Bank statement, or * Paycheck, or * Government check, or * Other government document that shows your name and address
UNQUOTE
For those who do not have ANY of the above photo-IDs, they can be requested to BRING to the registration center two passport pictures, one of which can be affixed to their bar-coded application form (see Appendix 3 below for a suggested form), and a scanned copy (to be followed possibly by lamination) can be returned to the registrant as an instant government-approved ID card for him or her.
If DDCMs must be used at all, then they will be needed ONLY for those registrants who do not have ANY of the above photo-IDs – and that population should be in the vast minority. More importantly, we should not make the electoral process so vulnerable to one machine for political mischief-makers to easily derail.
A NOTE ON THE REGISTRATION CENTERS VIS-À-VIS POLLING UNITS
I still do not understand why we need to identify the registration centers with the polling units. With about 9,000 wards country-wide, we do not need more than 30,000 registration centers (roughly on average 3 per ward), whereupon voters can be ASSIGNED to the 120,000 polling units later on, sent either by SMS or by email, made available on the Internet, or selectively published at various INEC centers.
IN any case, one hopes that in future, all of these polling units will:
1. Have street addresses, and not nebulous identifications like "Tree in front of Oba's Palace", etc.
2. Make as much use as possible of public institutions like primary, secondary and tertiary class-rooms, as well as town halls, with INEC money being used judiciously for collateral social amenities upgrade.
A NOTE ON ELECTION DAY
While at it, INEC should be spending more time now building greater confidence in its operations by letting the world know what it has in store for Nigerians ON ELECTION DAY. How we are going to vote on that day, and how we will be assured that our votes will count, we still don't know. One hopes, as Jega himself has once hinted, that the Modified Open Ballot System will be used as on June 12, 1993, where
- all voters get accredited from (say) from 8- 11 am nationwide;
- all voting is done (say) from 11 am - 4 pm nationwide;
- all counting is done at polling stations and announced and recorded there from 4 pm - 7pm, pasted there for the world to see then and later, and also sent in real time to central AND local centers.
Then and only then shall we have a shot at free, fair and credible elections. However, the confidence building should start right away, and should not depend on the nebulous order of DDCMs.
And there you have it.
APPENDIX 1:
Previous Timetable of INEC in preparation for January 2011 Elections.
http://inecnigeria.org/index.php?cateid=9&contid= 321
|
| Deliverables | Timelines |
| (i) | Identification of equipment suppliers | Early August 2010 |
| (ii) | Award of contract | Early August 2010 |
| (iii) | Delivery of 15,000 units of equipment for training | Early September 2010 |
| (iv) | Delivery of balance of equipment for registration exercise | Mid October 2010 |
| (v) | Training | Early to Mid September 2010 |
| (vi) | Completion of deployment of equipment to polling units | Mid October 2010 |
| (vii) | Registration exercise | Late Oct. – Early Nov. 2010 |
| (viii) | Printing of Voters' Register for display | Early November 2010 |
| (ix) | Display of Voters' Register | Mid November 2010 |
| (x) | Verification, correction and certification | Mid Nov. – Early Dec. 2010 |
http://inecnigeria.org/newsview.php?news=15&newsid=509
| S/N | ACTIVITY | DATE | REMARKS |
| 1 | Conduct of Party primaries | 11th September, 2010 – 30th October, 2010 | To enable Political Parties democratically nominate candidates for the elections as required by Section 87 of the Electoral Act, 2010 |
| 2 | Issuance of Notice of election | 13th October, 2010 | Section 30 (1) of the Electoral Act, 2010 provides not later than 90 days before the election. |
| 3 | Campaign by Political Parties in public commences | 17th October, 2010 | Section 99(1) of the Electoral Act, 2010 provides 90 days before polling day. |
| 4 | Collection of Form CF001 (Affidavit/Personal particulars of candidates) and Form CF002 (Party's list of candidates) for all elections. | 19th October, 2010 – 22nd October, 2010 | No provision in the Electoral Act, 2010. |
| 5 | Registration of Voters | 1st November 2010 – 14th November 2010 | Pursuant to Section 9(5) of the Electoral Act, 2010 |
| 6 | Display of Register of Voters for claims and objections. | 20th November 2010 – 25th November, 2010 | Pursuant to Section 19(1) of the Electoral Act, 2010 |
| 7 (a) (b) (c) | Last day for submission of Forms CF001 and CF002 at the National Headquarters of the Commission National Assembly Elections Presidential Election Governorship/State Assembly Elections | 15th November, 2010 22nd November, 2010 29th November, 2010 | Section 31(1) of the Electoral Act, 2010 provides for not later than 60 days before the election. |
| 8 (a) (b) (c) | Publication of personal particulars of candidates. (CF001) National Assembly Elections Presidential Election Governorship/State Assembly Elections | 22nd November, 2010 29th November, 2010 6th December, 2010 | Section 31(3) of the Electoral Act, 2010 provides for publication within 7 days of the receipt of the form CF001 |
| 9 (a) (b) (c) | Last day for withdrawal by candidates/Substitution of withdrawn candidate by Political Parties National Assembly Elections Presidential Election Governorship/State Assembly Elections | 30th November, 2010 7th December, 2010 14th December, 2010 | Section 35(1) of Electoral Act, 2010 provides not later than 45 days to the election. |
| 10 | Publication of official Register of voters for the elections. | 16th December, 2010 | Section 20 of the Electoral Act, 2010 provides not later than 30 days before the election. |
| 11 (a) (b) (c) | Publication of personal particulars (CF001) of substitute candidates National Assembly Elections Presidential Election Governorship/State Assembly Elections |
4th December, 2010 11th December, 2010 18th December, 2010 | Section 32(3) of the Electoral Act, 2010 provides for publication within 7 days of the receipt of the form CF001 |
| 12 | Collection of Nomination forms | 22nd – 25th November, 2010 | No provision in the Electoral Act, 2010. |
| 13 (a) (b) (c) | Last day for the submission of Nomination forms by Political Parties National Assembly Elections Presidential Election Governorship/State Assembly Elections | 4th December, 2010 7th December, 2010 10th & 11th December, 2010 | No provision in the Electoral Act, 2010. |
| 14 (a) (b) (c) | Publication of list of nominated candidates. National Assembly Elections Presidential Election Governorship/State Assembly Elections | 16th December, 2010 23rd December, 2010 30th December, 2010 | Section 34 of the Electoral Act, 2010 provides at least 30 days before the day of election. |
| 15 (a) (b) (c) | Publication of Notice of poll for: National Assembly Elections Presidential Election Governorship/State Assembly Elections | 31st December, 2010 8th January, 2011 15th January, 2011 | Section 46 of the Electoral Act, 2010 provides not later than 14 days before the election. |
| 16 (a) (b) (c) | Submission of names of Party Agents to the Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECS.) National Assembly Elections Presidential Election Governorship/State Assembly Elections | 8th January, 2011 15th January, 2011 22nd January, 2011 | Section 45 of the Electoral Act, 2010. Provides not later than 7 days before the election. |
| 17 (a) (b) | Last day/time for campaigns National Assembly Elections Presidential Election Governorship/State Assembly Elections | 14th January, 2011 21st January, 2011 28th January, 2011 | Section 99(1) of the Electoral Act, 2010 prohibits Advertisements or broadcasts of campaigns 24 hours prior to the day of election. |
| 18 (a) (b) (c) | Date of election National Assembly Elections Presidential Election Governorship/State Assembly Elections | 15th January, 2011 22nd January, 2011 29th January, 2011 | By Sections 76, 178, 116 and 132 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 and Section 26 of the Electoral Act, 2010, dates of elections to be appointed by the Commission. |
Note: Run offs for Governorship and Presidential Elections (if any) will be held within 7 days after the announcement of the result of the respective elections. Section 179 (4) and (5) and Section 134 (4) and (5) respectively of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999.
APPENDIX 2
ON NATIONAL ID CARDS
By the way, back in January 2009, the National ID Management Commission http://www.nimc.gov.ng/
stated that it had issued 37.9 million correct IDs and 14 million incorrect IDs, and that there were only 6 states that did not have their IDs done yet. 2 years later, one wonders what the TRUE situation is - whether the corrections have been made, more cards have been issued, and all states have been reached. With proper coordination,those who have National IDs should NOT need voter ID cards, just registration and possibly going to a registration center to get a bar code affixed, making things easier.
QUOTE
http://www.nimc.gov.ng/idcardproject.html
FEATURES OF THE NATIONAL IDENTITY CARD
The current National Identity Card has data on both sides. The Front Side of the card among other things contains owner's information such as Surname, First Name, Middle Name, Maiden Name, Date of Birth, Height, Sex, Blood Group, Occupation and Applicant's Residence.
In addition, the National coat of arms appears in two places, the small one is found at the upper left corner of the card while the bigger one appears on the body of the card towards the right. The National flag appears on the upper right corner, while the map of Nigeria is located at the lower right corner.
The Reverse Side contains information about the owner's next of kin and data about the card itself. Particulars of the next of kin: Surname, First Name, Middle Name, Address, Applicant's origin. Information about the card include: Date of Identity Card Issue – Place – State – LGA – Registration Centre; Sequence Number and the ID Form Number.
A Unique Personal Number is issued to the owner of the card. This number consists of a combination of alphabets and numbers. The two alphabets indicate the State of origin of the card owner. The number remains a unique identity of the card owner for life and does not change, irrespective of the number of times a card id reissued, replaced or updated.
There is a 2-dimensional bar code portion at the bottom of the reverse side. It contains fingerprints data of the applicant in encrypted format. These fingerprints could be seen by placing the card in an appropriate card reading device. There are other hidden security features on the National Identity Card which could be used to verify its genuineness.
UNQUOTE
http://allafrica.com/stories/200901060336.html
DAILY TRUST
Nigeria: '14 Million National ID Cards Have Inaccurate Data'
Francis Okeke
6 January 2009
The Director General of the National Identity Commission, Mr. Chris Onyemenam has said that about 14 million national identity cards have errors in them.
Onyemenam stated this yesterday in a budget performance and defence session organised for his commission by the House of Representatives' Committee on Interior.
He pointed out that the errors in the data of card carriers was just one of the problems faced by his commission, just as he added that 37.9 million entries were correctly done.
According to him, over two-third of the population are yet to be captured by the National Identity Cards scheme while revealing that as at the time his team took over the Commission, the cards from six states had not been done.
He said that the lack of cards by the six states pointed to the fact that millions of Nigerians are denied access to national identity cards. "Even I, as the Director General of the Commission do not have a copy of my own identity card" he added.
He called for proper planning, which according to him would address the problems faced by the commission..
While admitting that personal information management in the country was still very poor, Onyemenam explained that his commission is embarking on plans to improve the situation by constructing 13 offices in some states at the proposed cost of N22.5 million each so that data centres can be warehoused in those places.
He lamented that "anywhere anyone is registered, if they want to access the data of that person, they have to come to Wuse Zone 5 (Abuja). We want to change that."
He maintained that if direct online personal information was available to Banks, establishments and security agencies, the incidence of fraud and financial scams would be reduced.
The committee, led by Rep. Jerry Manwe (PDP, Taraba) queried the sum of N110 million allocated in the commission's 2009 budget proposal for diesel to power their generators saying the amount was excessive.
Defending the amount, Onyemenam said the huge amount was necessary because the commission's data centres need dedicated power supplies that would provide 24 hours information to those connected to the centres.
He however said that the commission was considering solar energy and smaller capacity generators to cut down energy expenses as a medium term measure adding that the commission budgeted N2.2b last year out of which it returned N549 million.
When the Committee reminded him if he was aware that a former Minister and Permanent secretary went to prison because of the National Identity Card scheme, he said: "I am conscious of the history of the National Identity cards Scheme and I have tried my best to see that the scheme is properly put on track."
APPENDIX 3
SUGGESTED INEC 2011 ELECTIONS VOTER REGISTRATION FORM
(Fill in Duplicate) Form Number
HOME ADDRESS INFORMATION (ALL CAPITAL LETTERS)
Street Address………………………………………………………..…Town…………………………….………….State……………………
Local Government…………………………………………..Ward……………………………………….………..Postal Zip Code…
Bar-Code VIN (INEC Writes Here)………………………Bar-Code (INEC Affixes Here)….........................................
Assigned Polling Unit Address (INEC Writes Here)……………………………………….…Assigned PU Number………
PERSONAL INFORMATION (ALL CAPITAL LETTERS)
Gender M/F....Last Name………………………..………….…First Name………………………..…………Middle Name………
Birthday DD/MM/YYYY…..Age………Mobile Ph.# (No spaces, all numbers)…………Email Address ………………
PhotoID/Document presented…..Document Number……………………………….…Comment…………………………….
INEC Official's Signature Date DD/MM/YYYY DD/DDDDDD/MM/YYYY Voter's Signature (VC/NID/DL/EPID/TP/SCID/HPID/OTHER) INEC Processing Official's Full Name (LAST, First, Middle) Date DD/MM/YYYY Affix approved passport picture here if no photoID/document is presented above
S
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