INEC cancels elections in 240 polling units, tells voters to check online

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has advised eligible voters in the February 25 and March 11 elections to visit its online portal to know their polling units. This is just as the electoral body announced that elections will not take place in 240 polling units across the country. INEC said voters checking their names and polling units was important as it moved some voters from overcrowded polling units to less congested polling units within the same location for a stress-free voting. “INEC in exercise of its powers under Section 40(2) of the Electoral Act, 2022, has allotted voters from overcrowded polling units to less congested polling units within the same location to promote a more pleasant and stress free voting experience on election day,” INEC explained. While briefing the political parties Monday INEC chairman Prof. Mahmood Yakubu said elections will not be held in 240 polling units nationwide. He said: “Let me therefore start with the issue of polling units. You may recall that in 2021, with your support and that of other critical stakeholders, the Commission successfully expanded voter access to polling units 25 years after the last delimitation exercise in 1996. Consequently, the number of polling units increased from 119,973 to the current figure of 176,846. “At previous meetings, we also briefed you on our efforts to redistribute voters to the polling units in order to avoid the congestion that made voting cumbersome in many of them nationwide. This requires the redistribution of voters to new polling units in proximate locations. Where they are separated by distance, this must be done after consultation with the voters. This has been done by our State offices nationwide. “However, there are 240 polling units without registered voters spread across 28 states and the FCT. They range from one polling unit to 12 polling units in each state and the FCT, except Taraba and Imo states with 34 and 38 polling units respectively. No new registrants chose the polling units and no voters indicated interest to transfer to them during the last Continuous Voter Registration, mainly for security reasons. This means that no elections will hold in these polling units. “In our avowed commitment to transparency, the Commission is making available to Nigerians a comprehensive list of these polling units by name, code number and their locations by state, local government and registration Area. With this development, the number of polling units where elections will be held nationwide on February 25, 2023 and March 11, 2023 is now 176,606. Hard copies of the list are included in your folders for this meeting. Above all, Nigerians deserve the right to know the locations of these polling units. Accordingly, the soft copy of the list has been uploaded to our website and social media platforms for public information and guidance.”