AbdulAhad Otuoze
Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has said that the commission had prioritized the changes and innovations that will be cascaded to the conduct of off-season Governorship elections and the 2023 general election.
The National Commissioner and Chairman Information and Voter Education, Barr. Festus Okoye made this known Lokoja on Thursday at the INEC/IFES workshop on Validation of INEC Voter Education Manual.
He noted that the changes and innovation’s will be challenges but they are necessary to enhanced the standard of electoral process in the country.
According to him, the commission is poised to surmount whatever the challenges may be, in order to conduct elections that will received the overwhelming endorsement of majority of Nigerians at all times.
On the polling units, he said in the next few days, the Commission will conclude the consultative phase and release clear guidelines for the movement of Voting Points to decongest the existing ones.
“It is pertinent to explain that no Voting Point will be moved from one local government to another.
“It is also important to underscore the fact that the expansion of polling units will not confer any advantage to any State of the federation other than decongesting existing polling units, degrading overcrowded , aid increase of voter turnout and improved the quality of legal services rendered by the Commission.
“The primary objective of all this is to make the voting experience more pleasant and less tedious for Nigerians,” he said.
Speaking on the Voters Registration, Okoye said the conduct of continuous Voter Registration exercise using an improved enrolment device is a top priority for the commission.
He assured that all registrable Nigerians will resume the continuous voter’s registration exercise as soon as the expansion of access to polling units is completed.
“In the new arrangement, new and some old registrants will have on offer, new, accessible and closer polling units. All polling units will have a lower threshold of 750 voter’s and an upper threshold of 1000.
For the registration of voters, he said the Commission will as always be guided by the law and the Constitution stressing that the Commission will not impose or accept the imposition of extraneous registration requirements not in tandem with the Constitution and the Law.
On the new legal framework, Okoye opined that the Senate Committee of INEC and the House of Committee on Electoral Matters in collaboration with INEC have worked hard on a new electoral framework for the country.
H stressed that the new framework will address some of the challenges that have impeded the development of technology by the Commission to enhance the quality of elections in the country.
His words, “It will set a new paradigm for managing the registration of new political parties; streamline the focus of Courts in terms of the requisite jurisdiction in the adjudication of pre-election matters. The new framework will also make provision for early release of funds due to the Commission.
