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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

ELECTORAL TRIPOD

Reliable Voter

Register

Proper Counting

Orderly Voting

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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

ADVANTAGES

15Courtesy: EMBs Ghana & Nigeria

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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APPRECIATIONS

Danke

Deeje

Gratias

Merci

Šukram

Thank you

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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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