LAGOS
Despite protests against the electronic device, including by the ruling party, Nigeria's official electoral commission remains committed to the use of electronic "readers" to authenticate voter cards in March 28 general polls.
"The question of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) bowing to pressure to quit the use of the card reader doesn't even arise," Kayode Idowu, a spokesman for the INEC chairman, told the Anadolu Agency on Thursday.
The ruling Peoples' Democratic Party (PDP) has voiced strong opposition to the use of the electronic device, meant to authenticate voter cards.
"The machine [the card reader] has not been tested in any election. There are bases for genuine concern over the use of the machine, for the first time, in a crucial election of this magnitude," PDP spokesman Femi Fani-Kayode told reporters on Wednesday.
He accused the opposition All Progressive Congress (APC) of plotting "to frustrate accreditation in some parts of the country, while not enforcing strict use of the machines in other parts."
The spokesman did not explain how the opposition planned to do this.
Several smaller political parties have threatened to boycott the poll if the electoral commission proceeds with its plan to roll out the card readers.
The INEC spokesman, however, reiterated the commission's commitment to using the readers, saying the device would help curb malpractices, including the use of fake voter cards.
"The commission has a program [that includes the use of card readers] and is proceeding with it until genuine grounds arise for it [readers] not to be used," said Idowu. "I hope not.
He noted that the arguments for or against the card readers were now the subject of litigation.
The opposition has repeatedly reaffirmed its support for the use of the electronic device.
On March 28, Nigeria is slated to hold presidential and parliamentary elections.
Although 14 candidates will contest presidency, the poll is largely seen as a race between incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan and Muhammadu Buhari, a former military ruler running on the APC's ticket.
The APC is an amalgam of political interests that have come together in a bid to wrest power from Jonathan's People's Democratic Party, which has ruled the country since its return to democracy in 1999.
