2023: Underage persons won’t vote, says INEC

 

The Independent National Electoral Commission on Wednesday said it was undertaking a comprehensive cleaning up of the voters’ register to remove under-aged persons who may attempt to vote during the exercise.

The chairman of INEC, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, gave the assurance in Abuja during the commission’s first quarterly meeting with civil society organisations.

He maintained that only eligible citizens would be added to the voters’ register for the 2023 poll.

“We are aware that Nigerians want to know when their PVCs will be available for collection. We appreciate the role of civil society organisations in encouraging and mobilising eligible Nigerians who have not registered to do so. At the same time, we want you to continue to sensitise them that those who had registered at any time previously need not register again.

“For those who have completed the registration, the Commission is right now undertaking the most comprehensive cleaning up of the data to ensure that only eligible citizens are added to the voters’ register for the 2023 General Election. We will share our findings with Nigerians very soon. The actual dates for the collection of the Permanent Voters’ Cards nationwide will also be announced very soon,” Yakubu said.

The INEC chairman also said a total of 8,260,076 eligible Nigerians commenced the online pre-registration, completed the registration physically, applied for transfer to new voting locations, requested for replacement of their PVCs and updated their voter information records.

According to him, since the exercise commenced in June last year, the Commission has so far published 36 weekly reports which show a consistent pattern of young Nigerians between the ages of 18 and 34 constituting the largest majority of registrants.

He said that students constitute the largest majority of registrants

In terms of occupation,

which he said is consistent with the dominance of young Nigerians as voters.

Yakubu said, “We will continue to work with all stakeholders, especially the civil society organisations, to sensitise the youths and other categories of voters to ensure that beyond registration, they come and out and vote on election day. We should not simply lament, criticise and condemn. We must get involved for the good of our democracy and the nation.”

Speaking on the outstanding by-elections, Yakubu said that the suspended Ekiti East I State Constituency bye-election would be combined with the state governorship election holding on June 18, 2022.

He said the Shinkafi State Constituency bye-election in Zamfara State would be announced after a thorough review of the security situation in the area, adding that the Commission awaits the declaration of vacancy by the Kaduna State House of Assembly in respect of the Giwa West State Constituency.

“For emphasis, the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System will be deployed in the FCT elections which is the second major election after the Anambra Governorship election held in November last year.

“The 68 constituencies in the FCT (six Chairmen and 62 Councillors) covering extensive urban and rural locations sharing border with five states in the North Central and North Western parts of the country is another opportunity to pilot the efficacy of the BVAS in a different geographical, geo-political and electoral context.

“The same technology will be deployed in all forthcoming bye-elections across the country. For all elections going forward, Polling Unit results will be uploaded in real-time on the INEC Result Viewing (IReV) portal,” Yakubu added.