The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has allayed fears over delay in accreditation of voters using the card readers, noting that the device would ensure an estimated average of 10 to 20 seconds accreditation time per voter.
Responding to a question on whether it is possible to accredit all voters who turn out within the stipulated hours for accreditation using the card reader during the upcoming general elections, INEC said: “The accreditation of a voter, using the Card Reader, is estimated to last an average of 10 to 20 seconds per voter.
“Even if we double this time to 20 to 45 seconds for planning purposes, and working on the basis of a maximum of 750 voters per voting point, and using a generous projection of 70% voter turnout (the average being 54% from past elections), which equates to 525 voters, the card reader will need 6.5hours to process all the voters.
“This is well within the operating time for the elections as well as the battery life of the Card reader”.