The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has directed that stress test be conducted on its card reader device in mock election scenario ahead of the forthcoming general elections.
This is contained in a statement on `answers to frequently asked questions on the card readers,’ signed by Mr Kayode Idowu, the Chief Press Secretary to INEC Chairman and issued to newsmen in Abuja on Friday.
According to the statement, the test will be carried out in two states in each of the six geo-political zones of the country.
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It added that details of the exercise would be unveiled next week.
Stress test according Information and Communication Technology experts is the testing of software or hardwares to determine whether their performance is satisfactory under extreme and unfavourable conditions.
The statement stated that the card reader had a 3,200mAh battery which could last for about 12 hours in when fully charged.
“The device hibernates when not in use to save the life of the battery“ it said.
The statement said that units of the card reader had been subjected to simulation Quality Assurance, Integrity and Functionality tests.
“The device has also been subjected to Performance and Conformance Test, both locally and in Texas, United States, laboratories by the Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) Research Centre and found to be of the highest quality grade,“ it said.
According to the statement, going by the results of tests already conducted, it is unlikely that the Card Reader would fail on election days.
It said that INEC had drawn up serial intervention plans in the unlikely event of the Card Reader fails.
The statement said that NEC had distributed 54,327,747 Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) nationwide, representing 78.93 per cent of the 68,833,476 registered voters as at Feb. 26, 2015.
According to the statement Jigawa with 1,831,276 registered voters had distributed 1,794,646 PVCs representing 98.00 per cent.
Gombe State followed with 95.05 per cent, having distributed 1,064,577 PVCs out of 1,120,023 registered voters.
The statistics also showed that Bauchi state followed with 94.36 per cent; Akwa-Ibom came fourth with 94.46 per cent, Zamfara and Taraba each with 93.42 per cent level of distribution as fifth.
The statistics showed that Ogun recorded the least per cent in PVC distribution with 808,590, out of 1,829,534 million registered voters representing 44.20 per cent.
