INEC Seeks Review of Amendments to Electoral Act

Fixes Edo, Ondo CVR for June 22
Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja
The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Mahmood Yakubu, has expressed the need for amendments to the Electoral Act because of its implications for electoral operations and logistics.

He said the Act needed to be thoroughly examined ahead of the 2019 general election and other pending elections.
Yakubu, who spoke at a forum in Lagos, charged operations and logistics officers across the country to think out of the box so that the commission would be better informed and equipped with knowledge of effective electoral, operational and logistical strategies towards the 2019 general election.

Yakubu urged the officers to deliberate on the major challenges of electoral operations and logistics and to generate ideas and come up with strategic and implementable recommendations.

The INEC Chairman who was represented by Dr. Muhammad Mustapha Lecky, a National Commissioner and a member of the Electoral Operations and Logistics Committee (EOLC), identified a number of thorny issues which he insisted could not be glossed over.

He said the amendments had implications for electoral operations and logistics and they needed to be thoroughly examined ahead of the 2019 general election and others pending.

They include responding to communities’ desire to maximise voters turnout by ensuring fair and adequate provision of Polling Units (PUs) which if not addressed would lead to disenfranchising a sizeable proportion of voters; the integrity of election materials, especially with regard to their availability and correct identification and distribution to specific locations; late arrival of materials, especially ballot papers and result sheets and the adequacy of transportation arrangements, especially for difficult terrains.
Meanwhile, INEC has scheduled the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise for Edo and Ondo States to hold from June 22 to 26, 2016.

The five-day exercise would provide an opportunity for some eligible category of the citizens of Edo and Ondo States.
The categories of persons being targeted for the exercise include those who were eligible but did not register before the 2015 general election, those who are eligible but whose names are not in the Register of Voters; and those who have attained the age of 18 years since the last voter registration exercise.
The CVR exercise would take place at the Registration Area centres/wards level. It will also commence daily (during the scheduled five days) from 9a.m. to 4p.m.