Yemisi Izuora
The Independent Nation Electoral Commission, INEC, has called on stakeholders to support the Commission’s efforts in sensitizing voters to abide by registration rules to ensure many voters are captured in the forthcoming general elections.
Mahmood Yakubu, Chairman of the Commission, while giving update of the ongoing voter registration exercise in Abuja, observed that the troubling issue of invalid registration still persists which it detected while cleaning up the latest registration data.
“As you may know, the ongoing Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise is now into the Fourth quarter nationwide.
“We restarted the CVR on 28th June 2021 after it was suspended for the 2019 General Election. Although the exercise was scheduled to restart earlier, it was delayed by the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and various security challenges, including the persistent attacks on our offices and facilities in various parts of the country, mainly between October 2020 and May 2021., he said.
According to him , In restarting the CVR, the Commission introduced the online pre-registration system as part of our determination to continue to improve the electoral process and ensure that Nigerian voters have the best of voting experience. This innovation makes it possible for intending registrants and already registered voters who may have issues with their registration to commence the process online and subsequently complete it in person at a Registration Centre of their choice.
“This has worked tremendously well based on the reports we have received so far. Since the resumption of the CVR exercise, millions of eligible citizens have availed themselves of this online pre-registration facility as well as the physical registration in our State and Local Government Area offices nationwide to register, update their records or transfer their registration to other places where they wish to vote in future elections.”
The Chairman noted that as against the AFIS used in previous exercises, the Commission introduced the Automated Biometric Identification System (ABIS) which is a more comprehensive and robust system, involving not just fingerprint identification but also the facial biometric recognition.
“Sadly, it seems that many registrants, either out of ignorance that they do not need to re-register if they had done so before, or a belief that our systems will not detect this infraction, have gone out to register again.
“This is despite repeated warnings by the Commission against this illegal action. In addition, there are also registrants whose data were incomplete and did not meet our Business Rules for inclusion in the register. Both categories i.e. the failure of ABIS and incomplete data constitute invalid registrations. Presently, nearly 45% of completed registrations nationwide are invalid, rising to as high as 60% or more in some States. This infraction happened in all States of the Federation. No State is immune from it. These invalid registrations will not be included in the Register of Voters.In our commitment to transparency, the distribution of the registration figures, including the percentages of valid and invalid registrations on State-by-State basis, will be made available to you at this press conference. The same information will be uploaded to the Commission’s website and social media platforms immediately.”
Yakubu said the development is worrisome because of the time and resources expended in handling these cases, adding, “Even more disturbing are the strong indications that some of our staff may be complicit in facilitating these infractions, notwithstanding stern warnings. Consequently, the Commission is reviewing reports on such staff and has commenceda detailed investigation which may include the prosecution of those found culpable. Specific registrants associated with these infractions by our staff may also face prosecution in line with Sections 22 and 23 of the Electoral Act 2022.”
He requested support of political parties, the media, civil society organizations and the general public to assist the Commission in educating Nigerians about the problem of invalid registration. “As we have repeatedly explained, if you had at any time in the past registered to vote, you do not have to reregister. If you have registered in the past, you should not get involved in the CVR again unless you have had problems with your PVC or fingerprint recognition during accreditation in any previous election. In that case, all you need to do is to revalidate your registration by visiting a designated registration centre to recapture your fingerprints and picture. Other registered persons who may also get involved in the CVRare those whose PVCs are missing or defaced; those whose details need correction and those seeking to transfer from their current places of voting to other locations. These cases do not involve new registration. Apart from these, the CVR is essentially for Nigerians who have attained the age of 18 years and have not registered earlier.” he said.
He assured that, “With our improved systems using the ABIS, the Commission shall continue to clean up the register to eliminate invalid registration and ensure that only those who should be in the Register of Voters are included. It is precisely the introduction of this more robust system that has enabled us to improve our ability to detect these invalid registrants.
“However, we also suspect that some of these invalid registrations may have arisen out of ignorance. Consequently, the Commission is establishing a dedicated Help Desk for people who need information about the CVR. Kindly use the Help Desk if you are in doubt about your registration status or whether you should register or not. Furthermore, citizens who have no access to the internet can ask the Registration Officer at the Registration Centre before proceeding. You can contact the Help Desk by phone as well as our various social media handles.”