By Princess-Ekwi Ajide, Abuja
The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has once again shown its commitment to ensuring that no eligible Nigerian is left out of the electoral process on account of displacement, disability or other limiting circumstances to citizens’ participation in the electoral process.
INEC, yesterday, presented for validation a revised Framework and Regulations for Voting by Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).
The Chairman of INEC, Professor Mahmood Yakubu while speaking at the Stakeholder Validation meeting for the Revised Framework and Regulations for by IDPs, held in Abuja, explained that framework has taken into consideration several developments since the last review and validation exercise in 2018 to include the increased number of IDPs as a result of widespread insecurity nationwide, incorporated displaced citizens arising from armed conflicts as well as natural emergencies like flooding and align the framework with the provisions of the Electoral Act 2022, Section 24(1) which empowers the Commission to ensure as far as practicable, that no Nigerian is disenfranchised on account of displacement by emergency situations.
Professor Yakubu, urged the participants including Community Leaders from communities with IDPs across the country, members of the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES), Members of the Civil Society Community, and INEC Management staff from states with IDPs, to contribute towards enriching the document.
The INEC boss further disclosed that the Commission plans to display the Register of voters to be used for the 2023 General Election nationwide for claims and objection as soon as it completes the ongoing Automated Biometric Identification System (ABIS) to weed out all double/multiple as well as ineligible registrants.
He explained that what the Commission had previously displayed for claims and objections in its Local Government Area offices nationwide from 15th – 21st August 2022, was not the entire register of voters but the list of fresh registrants at the end of the fourth and last quarter of the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise covering the period from 11th April – 31st July 2022.
The Country Director for the International Foundation for Electoral System, IFES, Seray Jah, reiterated that his organization is willing and ready to support the Commission in the successful implementation of the Framework and Regulations for Voting by IDPs.
According to him, INEC should be assured of their readiness to continually partner with the Commission in achieving its mission of serving as an independent and effective election management body committed to conducting free, fair, and credible elections for sustainable democracy in Nigeria.
In a goodwill message, the House of Representatives Committee Chairperson on Electoral Matters, Hon. Aishatu Jibril Dukku, applauded the policy document proposed by INEC to guide the conduct of IDPs voting operations to bring them into the voting population, and therefore, deserves support from every citizen.
She harped on the need to improve on the framework and the Regulations and Guidelines for Voting by Internally Displaced Persons which will drive IDP voting operations for the 2023 General Elections and urged the Commission to draw lessons from the 2015 and 2019 experience and as well consult with other knowledge holders at state and national levels, with a view to implementing the IDP voting Framework based on International best practices.
