“Anyone who does not use the smart card reader is considered as voting zero."
Cyril Omorogbe, Delta State Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), says anywhere card readers fail to perform during the governorship and house of assembly elections in the state, the elections would be moved to the next day to enable the electorate exercise their franchise.
Omorogbe, who made this known on Wednesday at a stakeholders meeting with leaders of political parties in the state, at the state headquarters of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), said: “Anyone who does not use the smart card reader is considered as voting zero,” stressing that card readers are there for free, fair and credible elections.
He warned that anyone caught in electoral irregularities would be dealt with in accordance with the law, noting that he can be called whenever irregularities were discovered during the process and it would be responded to immediately.
"I don't expect anyone to sabotage the process,” he added.
Omorogbe, however, cautioned the electorate not to allow politicians buy their consciences, and assured the people that the March 9, 2019 elections would be better than the presidential and national assembly elections.
Responding to questions from political party officials during the stakeholders meeting on failures observed with the card readers, the REC noted that there are backups to enhance the process, assuring that the card readers have been tested would perform better than what obtained in the February 23 elections.