Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, Chairman of INEC, made the announcement following a meeting with political parties in Abuja on Monday.

Yakubu recalled that the Commission had made efforts to redistribute voters to polling units in order to avoid the congestion that had made voting difficult in many of them across the country.

This, he claims, necessitates the redistribution of voters to new polling units in nearby 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 Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

“They range from one polling unit to 12 polling units in each state and the FCT, except for 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 (CVR), mainly for security reasons. This means that no elections will hold in these polling units,” he said.

See the full statement below:

REMARKS BY THE CHAIRMAN, INDEPENDENT NATIONAL ELECTORAL COMMISSION (INEC), PROF. MAHMOOD YAKUBU, AT A MEETING WITH POLITICAL PARTIES HELD AT THE INEC CONFERENCE ROOM, ABUJA, ON MONDAY 13TH FEBRUARY 2023

The Chairmen and Leaders of Political Parties

National Commissioners

Directors and other Senior Officials of the Commission

Members of the INEC Press Corps

Ladies and Gentlemen

I warmly welcome you all to this meeting. We appreciate that you are in the middle of your electioneering campaigns nationwide and yet found time to attend this meeting despite the short notice. We thank you for your presence and wish to assure you that the meeting will not be long so that you can resume your campaigns and other activities toward the 2023 General Election.

We have consistently assured the leaders of political parties that the Commission will regularly consult you to bring you up to date on the preparations for the forthcoming elections

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 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 Federal Capital Territory (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 (CVR), 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 hold nationwide on 25th February 2023 and 11th March 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.

Closely related to the distribution of voters is the identification of polling units. From the feedback we received from our officials and accredited observers following the recent nationwide mock accreditation using the BVAS, it is clear that some voters could not easily identify their polling units.

This should not happen on election day. Consequently, the Commission is advising voters to confirm the locations of their polling units through a dedicated portal on our website. In addition, all voters who have been assigned to new polling units will receive text messages from the Commission indicating their polling units.

We have also compiled the register of such voters and our State offices will give it wide publicity, especially for those who may not have provided their telephone numbers during voter registration or those whose numbers may have changed. Voters can locate and confirm their polling units before election day by sending a regular text or WhatsApp message to a dedicated telephone number. Details of the simple procedure will be uploaded to our social media platforms shortly.

As you are already aware, we have less than two weeks to the 2023 General Election. The Commission is finalizing the issuance of 1,642,386 identification tags for the Polling and Collation Agents nominated by the 18 political parties made up of 1,574,301 Polling Agents and 68,085 Collation Agents.

I urge the Chairmen and leaders of political parties to ensure that only agents accredited by the Commission and wearing the correct identification tags appear at polling units and collation centers during elections.

A situation where two or more agents claim to represent a political party, resulting in commotion at polling units or collation centers, is unacceptable. Only Identification tags issued by the Commission will be recognized on election day and violators are liable to arrest and prosecution for impersonation.

Turning to the ongoing electioneering campaigns, the Commission is concerned about violent attacks on supporters of political parties across the board, resulting in the loss of life in some cases. Let me once again appeal to the Chairman and leaders of political parties to continue to call your candidates and supporters to order.

I also call on the security, intelligence, and law enforcement agencies to arrest, investigate and prosecute anyone involved in violent conduct, including incendiary statements capable of inciting a breach of the peace.

Once again, I welcome you to this meeting. Thank you and God bless.

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At a press conference, Barry Andrews, a member of the European Parliament and the Chief Observer of the EU EOM, announced the beginning of the election observation mission.

“This is the seventh EU Election Observation Mission to Nigeria since 1999. The EU attaches great significance to these elections,” Andrews said.

He urged the Nigerian government, candidates, and political parties to ensure that the general elections are peaceful and that election-related violence is prevented.

The 2022 Electoral Act, which features new measures adopted to improve several parts of the electoral process, will be monitored by the EU EOM as part of its overall review.

Following an invitation from Nigeria’s election watchdog, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the EU deployed the EU EOM.

The EU EOM is independent in its findings from EU Member States and all EU institutions, and it has a separate and distinct mandate from the EU Delegation in Nigeria.

The post EU Launches Election Observation Mission in Nigeria appeared first on Tech | Business | Economy.

The goal is to support innovative technological-based solutions to scale their ideas towards increasing citizen participation. A Team of Civic Tech experts will review all the Proposals and selected proposals from participants and successful ideas will be supported to scale their proposals, existing ideas, or innovations.

Benefits 

• Financial support to scale innovative proposals, ideas, or innovations
• Opportunity to co-create innovation with other young innovators 
• Increased visibility and international recognition for innovative solutions 

Eligibility

To be eligible for Yiaga Africa’s Scaling Civic Tech Solutions, applicants must meet the following eligibility criteria:

• Be a young Nigerian tech innovator between the ages of 18 and 35
• Have knowledge and experience relevant to the development and deployment of tech solutions 
• Have an active internet connection as most engagements will be done virtually
• Must be resident in Lagos or Sokoto (with the possibility to scale the proposal with their regions)
• Have a basic understanding of political and electoral issues in Nigeria
• Be a registered voter
• Women and persons living with disabilities are STRONGLY encouraged to apply

How to apply 

Do you meet the above eligibility criteria? Then apply before the deadline on Friday, February 3, 2023.

The post Innovator Influencing Citizen Participation in 2023 Elections? Apply for Scaling Civic Tech Solutions appeared first on Tech | Business | Economy.