INEC to debut electronic voting in Anambra Guber

 

The Chairman, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Prof. Mahmood Yakubu says the commission will introduce electronic voting in 2021 Anambra governorship election.

Prof Yakubu made this known in an interview with journalists on the sideline of the 2021 budget defence at the House of Representatives Committee on Electoral Matters on Wednesday in Abuja.

He said:

“It is difficult to give you an idea of cost or when the process would be concluded, but we are determined that we are going to deploy electronic voting machines, electronic balloting machines very soon in our elections.

“Possibly beginning with the Anambra governorship election next year.”

He had earlier complained about the decline of the commission’s budget over the years, recalling that in 2019, they got N45.5 billion while for 2020, the envelope dropped to N40 billion.

The chairman said that as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the budget further dropped to N36 billion.

Meanwhile, the House of Representatives Committee on Electoral Matters pledged to do anything within the law to help boost the operations INEC.