The Independent National Electoral
Commission ( INEC ) will on Tuesday
publish the voters register – one month
to the election - in line with the
Electoral Act .
Mr . Kayode Idowu , INEC Chairman Prof .
Attahiru Jega ’s spokesman, said
yesterday that the register will be on
display to allow for public scrutiny for
claims and objections.
The publication of the register will end
the anxiety over the list . Those who
have not registered will no longer be
able to do so before the elections.
Idowu said those who registered during
the continous Voter Registration ( CVR)
and those whose names are on the
register but yet to pick up their
Permanent Voter Cards ( PVCs), will still
be free to have the cards until the end
of the month .
The elections are slated for February 14
and 28.
The list will be published in line with
Section 19 (i) of the Electoral Act , 2010
as amended.
Section 9 ( 5) of the Act also forbids
INEC from registering any person not
later than 30 days before any election .
Section 19( 5 ) directs the commission to
publish names of those expected to
participate in the April 14th and 15 th
general elections forthwith.
The section reads: “Subject to the
provisions of section 9( 5 ) of this Act ,
the Commission shall , by notice ,
appoint a period of not less than five
days and not exceeding 14 days, during
which a copy of the voters’ register for
each local government , Area Councillor
ward shall be displayed for public
scrutiny and during which period any
objection or complaint in relation to
names omitted or included in the
voters ’ register or relation to any
necessary correction, shall be raised or
filed .”
Section 9 (5 ) states : “ The registration of
voters , updating and revision of the
register of voters under the section
shall stop not later than 30 days before
any election covered by this Act ”
INEC is contemplating carving out
constituencies for Internally Displaced
Persons (IDPs ) among other possible
options , to ensure their participation in
the elections.
The committee set up to look into
various possibilities has submitted a
report after working for two weeks.
IDP camps have been created in Yobe ,
Borno and Adamawa states , which have
been under attack of insurgents.
Idowu said : “One option is to designate
a safe haven as a constituency ,
because the law prescribes constituency
and residency voting. You can
designate a safe area as a safe haven
and invite everybody to come to that
constituency from wherever they dwell
within or outside the country to come
over and cast their votes.
“ If you have possibility of IDP camps
being homogenous in terms of where
people migrated from , you can move
the polling units and get them to vote .
So there are many options that the
security can work with but essential it
will still need security cover to do these
things .”
Jega has been invited by the House of
Representatives to explain the plan for
the elections.
The lawmakers are concerned about the
chances of the country’s 3 .3 million
Internally Displaced Persons ( IDPs)
voting in the elections.
The meeting has been fixed for January
20 .
The Chairman , House Committee on
Electoral Matters , Jerry Manwe , the
INEC boss and his team are expected to
elaborate on INEC ’s level of
preparedness .
Funding ,
Security and franchise of IDPs
as well as other sundry matters will be
discussed .
The Nation
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