INEC and New Polling Units

INEC and New Polling Units

Onyedi Ojiabor, Abuja

POLITICS DIGEST – The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) appears determined to establish more polling units in the country before the 2023 general elections.

This is coming after nearly a quarter of a century when new polling units were created in Nigeria.

The creation of new polling units in 1996 under the defunct National Electoral Commission of Nigeria (NECON) resulted into 119,973 polling units.

INEC helmsmen have already launched widespread consultation of stakeholders to ensure the success of the exercise this time around.

Previous attempts at creating new polling units in the country failed due to mistrust, suspicion, political bigotry and ethnic rivalry.

Accusation of a hidden agenda was also made against the electoral body. Some raised the issue of law, questioning the power of INEC to create new polling units.

The electoral umpire said its genuine intention to expand voter access to polling units in 2007, 2014 and shortly before the 2019 general election was largely misunderstood and politicized.

INEC Chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu, said they are working on the gray areas by battling to strengthen the curve of suspicion, misinformation and undue politicisation of the exercise.

“As you are probably aware, the commission has reviewed the previous efforts at expanding voter access to polling units in 2007, 2014 and just before the 2019 general election and why they were unsuccessful.

“We came to the conclusion that our genuine intention may not have been properly communicated for input by Nigerians. We also tried to solve the problem too close to the general elections which made the exercise to be misunderstood and politicized,” Yakubu said.

“Learning from experience, the commission has decided to start early and to engage with Nigerians by consulting widely.

“We hope that by doing so, we will better communicate the commission’s intention to Nigerians and invite input across board on how to address this problem in the immediate term and hopefully establish the framework for future adjustments as the need arises as is the case in virtually all democracies around the world,” he added.

Wide consultation on the nagging issue of polling units demarcation and voter access to polling units may not be faulted, INEC should, for whatever it takes, address the widely held view of unbridled lopsided polling units allocation in certain areas.

Despite past failures, INEC boss seems poised to pull through the exercise.

At a consultative meeting with media organisations in Abuja last week, he persisted that the worrisome low voter access to polling units should be addressed ahead of 735 days remaining before the crucial 2023 general election.

Yakubu believes that increased voter access to polling units would translate to greater number of voters. He also believes that creating more access to polling units would be part of the solution to the dwindling voter turn-out at elections.

With the criteria for the demarcation of the polling units still unfolding, requests for creation of polling units are said to have been tumbling into the commission.

A senator is said to have asked for 712 polling units in his senatorial district while another lawmaker requested for 500 in his constituency.

Source: The Nation