2015 Elections: IPAC Charges INEC On Card Reader Use

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During a press briefing before the march on
Tuesday, the council spoke on the need for the
INEC to ensure it provides enough card readers
during the polls. The council said in a press conference tagged
"No PVC, No Election; No Card Readers, No
Election", that the time for rigging in the country
is over.<br/><br/>

Prior to this, The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Presidential
Campaign Organisation and some
political Parties had rejected the use of card
readers during the forthcoming general elections, which had been
rescheduled to March
28 and April 11, due to security challenges in
some parts of the country. According to them, the use of card readers is a
ploy to disenfranchise citizens in the coming
elections.<br/><br/>

The United Democratic Party, Action Alliance,
Allied Congress Party of Nigeria and Alliance for
Democracy, told the court through their counsel,
Alex Iziyon, that the proposed use of the card
readers was contrary to the provisions of the
constitution, as well as the amended 2010 Electoral Act. In the suit,
the political parties challenged the
powers of the Independent National Electoral
Commission (INEC) to introduce a process not
specifically provided for in the constitution, as it
prepares for the rescheduled polls.<br/><br/>

However, in his ruling on the exparte motion,
the trial judge, Justice Adeniyi Ademola, noted
that the political parties had shown that they had
legal rights, showing that the case is triable, but
observed that the parties would not suffer any
irreparable harm if the electoral body is given the opportunity to be
heard before the interim
orders being sought could be granted.