Ahead of the 2023 general elections the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has assured Nigerians of a well-organized, conducive, and secured environment for voting as it is currently reviewing and expanding Polling Units across the country to give voters an exciting voting experience.
Speaking at a presentation to the joint committee on INEC and electoral matters, the INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu identified access to polling units as a major challenge militating against voter turnout during the election and emphasized the need to expand the access if a free, fair and credible election must be achieved in 2023.
He said; “Between 1999 and 2019, a period of 20years voter turnout in Nigeria declined by 17%. So one election after another, the voter turnout keeps declining. In the last general election for the presidential and national assembly, for the presidential in particular, about 35% voter turn out whereas between 2000 and 2020 a period of 20 years, the voter turnout in Ghana increased by 17%. What did they get in Ghana right that we have not in Nigeria that theirs is on the upswing and ours is on the downswing?”
President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan, who also spoke at the presentation, assured that the National Assembly would support the electoral body in achieving its goal by 2023.
He said; “Let me assure the chairman of INEC and indeed Nigerians that the National Assembly will support INEC fully, completely, and wholly in ensuring that we provide a better voting environment for our citizens, whatever it will take, we will do so because democracy is about participation by the people. In addition to creating more polling units, we need to also mobilize voters to go to those polling units to vote.”
The commission believes the challenge of low voter turnout can be curbed to the barest minimum if polling units can be decongested.
Yakubu said; “The right to vote cannot be exercised without a place to vote. This time around we decided to start 2years ahead of the next general election. The commission believes that converting the voting points, and voting point settlements into polling units offer the least controversial, timely, and inexpensive solution.”
