However, reports from voters in different collection centres across the country revealed that some validly registered voters were informed by the INEC officials that their PVCs were not available; while some others were asked to return on a later day beyond the deadline or after the election to collect their PVCs.

This is a breach of the Electoral Act 2022 which mandates INEC in Section 16(1) to design, print and issue voter’s cards to voters whose names appear in the register of voters. INEC also, had further committed to and promised that everyone registered and, in their database, will have their PVC provided and available for collection.

The emphasis on a deadline for collection is an indirect disenfranchisement of validly registered voters whose PVCs are not available due to INEC’s administrative lapses. Denying these voters their right to vote due to a failure on the part of INEC is unacceptable.

And to be clear, this is not only a problem in Lagos. Citizens have provided reports from Abuja, Rivers, Delta, Anambra, Imo, Ondo, Nasarawa, Akwa Ibom, Kaduna, Borno, Sokoto, Ogun, Kano, & Kwara.

We also note the concern of the students who registered at home while tertiary institutions were shut down for over 8 months. According to INEC, 40% of the 9,518,188 newly registered voters are students. If they registered at home and are now at school, INEC must ensure they can pick up their cards in the least expensive way possible.

Reclaim Naija has received hundreds of calls and texts from its observers across the country about these challenges. With six episodes of Twitter Spaces and three Instagram Lives with different INEC officials; in addition to reports submitted through its www.rsvp.ng Complaints Portal, EiE Nigeria has supported over 10,000 voters through this PVC Collection process.

Given the reported challenges, we ask that INEC do the following:

1. Inform Nigerians if it is still printing cards and when all the cards for registered voters will be available for collection.
2. Extend PVC Collection to ensure that everyone whose cards were not found are reprinted, and there is a clear process for them to pick up the cards.
3. Work with the Nigerian Universities Commission (NUC) to ensure that there are no classes or exams the week before elections so students can go home to vote.
4. Communicate with newly registered voter’s especially students when the PVCs are ready.
5. Create a dedicated desk for civil society organisations, media and citizens to escalate the issues being observed for quick resolution.

The engine to drive this process is clear and proactive information sharing from INEC. There are high expectations for this election and INEC can not be seen to be deliberately or inadvertently disenfranchising certain groups of people.

God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria!

The post Five Steps INEC Should Take to Address Concerns of Disenfranchisement over PVCs – EiE appeared first on Tech | Business | Economy.

Under the aegis of the group’s flagship initiative #RSVP – Register | Select | Vote-not-fight | Protect, the multilayered campaign kicked off on February 2, 2022, with a series of media engagements, including a Twitter Spaces conversation.

Themed, #MakeNaijaWork, the 13-month campaign is a clarion call to Nigerians to seize the golden opportunity to decide and elect credible leaders by registering to vote and selecting candidates based on defined criteria – courage, compassion, competence, capacity & character.

Speaking on the core objective of the campaign, the organisation’s Executive Director, Yemi Adamolekun stated: “We spend so much time asking why we are yet to make socio-political  progress  but the answer is clear: We are yet to strategically occupy our Office of the Citizen. We are yet to understand that this is the highest office in Nigeria because elected and appointed public servants serve us. They are called public servants for a reason – to serve the public! Elections provide an opportunity to determine our servants!”

Launched in the month of love, #MakeNaijaWork asks that we show love to our country by engaging in the process to make her work for the benefit of all. If we love Nigeria, we should do all that we can to make her work, which includes registering to vote, voting wisely and holding our public servants accountable!

God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria!

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Enough is Enough (EiE Nigeria) is a network of individuals and organisations committed to instituting a culture of good governance and public accountability in Nigeria through active citizenship. EiE’s #RSVP – Register | Select | Vote | Protect is a key voter education campaign. EiE was an integral part of the #OccupyNigeria movement in 2012 and is very active in the #OpenNASS and #OfficeOftheCitizen campaigns.

The post 2023 Elections: EiE Nigeria Rolls Out #MakeNaijaWork Campaign appeared first on Tech | Business | Economy.