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The Independent National Electoral Commission INEC has concluded arrangements to publish the voters’ register on polling unit basis ahead of next year’s general election.
Section 19(1) and (2) of the Electoral Act 2022 (as amended) requires the Commission to display the hard copies of the register of voters for each Registration Area (Ward) and Local Government Area (and simultaneously publish the entire register on the Commission’s website) for a period of two weeks for scrutiny, claims and objections by citizens not later than 90 days to a General Election.
INEC National Commissioner in charge of Information and Voter Education, Barr. Festus Okoye in a statement on Thursday said the decision to publish the register was taken at the Commission’s weekly meeting held same Thursday.
According to him, the Commission deliberated on the forthcoming display of the entire national register of voters for claims and objections by citizens as required by law and approved the methodology for the exercise.
“As earlier announced by the Commission, the entire preliminary register containing 93,522,272 registrants will be published. The exercise will last for 2 weeks, from 12th -25th November 2022.
“The physical copies of the register will be displayed in all the 8,809 Registration Areas (Wards) and 774 Local Government Areas on polling unit basis nationwide. For the first time, the soft copy of the entire register will also be published on the Commission’s website (visit www.inecnigeria.org/display_register and follow the instructions)”, he stated.
Okoye added that the register will give the name, picture, date of birth and Voter Identification Number (VIN) of each registered voter.
However, he said for data protection and security reasons, critical information such as biometric details, residential addresses, telephone numbers and email addresses of voters will not be made public on both the physical and soft copies.
During the display, Okoye said any person may make a claim that the name of a registered voter has been omitted, make corrections on his/her personal details on the register, raise an objection against the inclusion of any person not qualified to vote or the name of a dead person on the register
“As the exercise commences on Saturday 12th November 2022, we appeal to Nigerians to seize the opportunity to scrutinize the register and draw the Commission’s attention to any corrections in their personal particulars and any malicious registrations, multiple registrants, non-Nigerians or any other person not qualified to be on the register.
“Detailed clarification on the processes and procedures for the exercise, including relevant forms, can be obtained from the Commission’s officials at the points of display at Registration Areas (Wards) and Local Government Areas. The information has also been uploaded to the Commission’s website and social media platforms.
“By the provisions of the law, cleaning up the voters’ register is a collective national responsibility. So far, the Commission has weeded out ineligible registrants using our Automated Biometric Identification System (ABIS). By working together with citizens, we can clean the register further as it is the critical foundation for credible elections”, he added.
