As the voting community in Central Nigeria prepares for the upcoming polls in Kogi State, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), has revealed that it will not be updating its voters’ register. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, instead, it will retain the voter register used in the state for the 2019 general elections.
Speaking during a dialogue session with the Nigerian Civil Situation Room, a coalition of over 70 civil society organisations in Abuja (the capital of Nigeria), Dr Johnson Alalibo, the election regulator’s Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in the state, announced that there are 2,210,534 total registered voters in Edo while the voter cards collected are 1,726,738.
“The commission suspended the collection of voter cards with continuous voter registration due to the COVID-19 pandemic. So, we are reverting to what we had in the 2019 general election, which is what we are using.”
Alalibo also explained that since the release of the state’s election timetable chronicling activities leading up to the polls, the commission has been knee-deep in the coordination of activities. This includes monitoring political party primaries, the publication of forms with names of candidates, the reception and distribution of non-sensitive materials to Local Government Areas. “We had a shortfall of smart card readers, we requested and they have brought some from sister states. We have concluded configuration of smart card readers and printing of voter register,” he said.
Revealing details of other activities the commission has undertaken to ensure a seamless election process, Alalibo said that training of electoral officers had been concluded and that of security personnel cascaded into three levels had also been done. He also said that capacity building for persons living with disabilities had been conducted with the commission taking note and making provision for them during the elections.
With regards to the participation of women in state politics, the commissioner further explained that there were ongoing radio programmes and campaigns to enhance women participation in the election adding that, infrared thermometers, sanitizers, and buckets have been provided for the election to ensure the safety of both the voters and election officials.
Finally, Alalibo informed the coalition that the commission had identified some hot spots for violence and had passed the information to security agencies for possible aversion of violence adding that INEC would work to deliver a credible election.
This story is part of our new series on Nigeria where we analyse electoral reform in the country ahead of the next general elections in 2023.
