Voters Registration: Reps Give INEC New Directives

By Oladosu Oluwagbenga

The House of Representatives has urged the Independent National Electoral Commission to extend the June 30, 2022, deadline for voter registration by 60 days, in order to allow more eligible Nigerians to register, obtain their Permanent Voter Card, and vote in the 2023 general elections.

Also, the House directed its Electoral Matters Committee to work with INEC to “study and provide solutions to the paucity of registration machines and people.”

The engagement is to also see to the deployment of an additional 30 voter registration machines in each of the 774 local government areas, train and deploy ad hoc staff to improve the shortage of manpower at registration centres and provide security for the ad hoc staff.

The committee is expected to report back in two weeks with recommendations for additional legislative action.

Benjamin Kalu, a member of the House, moved a resolution headed “Need for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to Extend the Deadline of Continuous Voters Registration, Deploy Additional Staff and Voters Registration Machines Across the Country” in plenary on Wednesday.

INEC deemed over 42% of voter registrations recorded since the start of CVR on June 28, 2021, invalid in April 2022, with about 20 million unclaimed PVCs, the legislator recalled.

He said, “The House is cognizant of the large numbers of unregistered eligible voters willing to be registered as evidenced by crowds seen at various registration centres resulting in congestion.

“The House is concerned about reports of shortages of voter registration machines, inadequate manpower and personnel at registration centres, which may lead to frustrations among prospective registrants and in some cases, unrest at some registration centres.

“The House is also aware of calls from concerned citizens and civil societies urging INEC to extend the voters’ registration deadline to accommodate eligible voters desiring to register for their Permanent Voters Cards.”

Kalu stated that the right to vote is “critically important to the health and legitimacy of our democracy, as well as electoral integrity.”

He said, “If nothing is done to improve the shortage of voter registration equipment and extend the deadline for voter registration, millions of Nigerians will be disenfranchised, thus jeopardising the integrity of the 2023 general elections.”