Gbenga Sodeinde in Ado Ekiti
As an urgent and effective measures to prevent electoral malpractices that are usually associated with crowded polling units, the Independent National Electoral Commission, (INEC) , has made plans to decongest some polling units in the state.
The commission explained that the decision was aimed at reducing the long queues and time wasting and as well allow more voters to exercise their rights during elections in 2023 general elections.
The commission assured the electorate that they would be not be disfranchised by the process.
The Resident Electoral Commissioner(REC) for Ekiti state , Professor Ayobami Salami, who spoke during a stakeholders’ meeting in Ado-Ekiti, called on the political parties and other stakeholders to educate the people on the new development, which he said would enhance effective electoral system.
He stated that some registration area centres, super registration area centres and collation centres would be moved to different places for security reasons and provided adequate space for number of ad hoc staff during the elections.
“All the communities and registration areas where these relocations were done have been properly communicated to the stakeholders,” he said.
On the ongoing distribution of the permanent voters card (PVCs) across the 16 LGAs in the state, the REC disclosed that as of December 9, 2022, a total of 783,796 PVCs have been collected, with 205,127 remaining uncollected of the 988,923 registered voters in the state.
Salami said: “To make voting process in 2023 general elections seamless , devoid of rigors and stress for the voters, the commission is planning to migrate some voters who fall within the densely populated polling units with the aim of decongesting such polling units and give room for the sparsely populated ones that are within the same cluster or location to be populated.
“ This shall go a long way to reduce unnecessary queues and time wasting at the polling units by voters. To this extent, I use this medium to solicit for your understanding and cooperation whenever the commission commences the exercise.”
As part of measures to ensure inclusivity during the election, the commission said it has approved the request of persons living with disabilities (PWDs) to participate in the electoral process as ad hoc staff, urging them to apply through the commission’s website.
On the rising cases of attacks on INEC facilities in the country, the REC commended security agencies and stakeholders for their efforts at preventing the attack in the state, urging the people to see the protection of the commission’s offices as a national obligation.
“ I am using this opportunity to appeal to all community leaders and the good people of Ekiti state to see the security of INEC’s facilities in their domains as a collective effort.
“ Do not hesitate to promptly report any suspicious movement or activities around any INEC facilities in your locality , kindly see these facilities as our collective heritage,” the professor of environmental science said.
Speaking, the Chairman of the Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC) in the state, Owoola Daramola, commended the commission for the regular interface with the political parties, calling on INEC to ensure the success of the migration of the voters for the state to witness credible 2023 general election.
