Reps to introduce e-parliament – Dogara

Electronic voting system in the conduct of activities of the House of Representatives would soon be the order of the day, according to plans by the Speaker, Hon. Yakubu Dogara.

The Speaker recently announced that in compliance with the Legislative Agenda of the 8th Assembly the House would
adopt the e-voting system in its operations.

“Consequently, forms have been distributed to individual members to collate their data ahead of production of e-voting cards to all the 360 MPs,” a statement by the Special Adviser (Media & Public Affairs) Turaki Hassan said.

It further states: “The implication of the new system is that records of each member’s punctuality and voting patterns can easily be accessed by his/her constituents and members of
the public.

The Legislative Agenda as adopted by the 8th Assembly last year states: “The 8th House commits to the use of ICT in the
daily conduct of legislative activities of the House. E-parliament and e-voting platforms will be made a regular feature of the House.

“E-voting will be used regularly during voting to properly reflect voting records of Members and parliamentary
accountability. The House shall collaborate with relevant
stakeholders to achieve the goal of an e-parliament.”

According to the statement, other initiatives that will be introduced include the establishment and equipping of a
Parliamentary Information Centre where information and documents of the National Assembly will be made available.

The introduction of the e-voting and e- parliament will further increase citizens access to the legislature and solve the
problem of public access to authentic documents of parliament, the statement said.

According to the statement, the e-parliament initiative is expected to operate on the platform of modern, up-to-date digital technology, and Internet and intranet access supported by computerized legislative information management system is also be put in