INEC READY TO HOLD STAKEHOLDERS ENGAGEMENTS ON EXPANDING VOTER ACCESS TO POLLING UNITS

Oru Leonard

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), says the Commission has finalized arrangements for the upcoming engagements with stakeholders on expanding voter access to Polling Units in Nigeria.

Festus Okoye Esq, National Commissioner and Chairman,
Information and Voter Education Committee stated this after a management meeting held by INEC today 2nd February, 2021.

Festus noted that for several weeks, the Commission has been preparing for these national engagements to address the inadequacies of Polling Units in Nigeria and the challenges they pose to election management.

Some of these challenges include overcrowding, numerous unserved populations and poor locations, which are potentially disenfranchising millions of Nigerians, and also pose health risks in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. This is a national problem that calls for national consensus.

“For several years the Commission has tried to address this fundamental challenge to democratic consolidation and election administration with minimal success. This has been mainly due to inadequate engagement between the Commission and stakeholders. Consequently, the Commission has had to resort to interim measures such as creating Voting Points at Polling Units nationwide and establishing Voting Point Settlements in the Federal Capital Territory. These engagements will afford an opportunity for the Commission to consult with stakeholders in order to build a genuine national consensus to address the problem of declining voter access to Polling Units.

“In the next few weeks, the Commission plans to engage with diverse stakeholders including political parties, civil society organizations, religious leaders, traditional institutions, labour unions, socio-cultural organizations, various arms of the federal government, as well as state governments. Among the burning issues to be addressed at these consultations are the challenges that declining access to Polling Units pose to democracy and election management in Nigeria, INEC stated.

INEC appealed to stakeholders in the electoral process and Nigerians at large to work with  the Commission to address this major issue.