INEC Tells Voters To Identify Polling Unit Before Election Day

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has urged voters to identify and verify various polling stations ahead of the February 25 general election.

The commission said the call was needed after a recent report that a nationwide fake certification exercise using the bimodal voter certification system, “BVAS,” was held, causing some voters to vote for the wrong polling station.

INEC Chairman Professor Mahmoud Yakubu said this in a message to voters released by the commission on Friday.

Yakubu said the challenge of voters not knowing their polling place needs to be addressed and that it should not happen on Election Day.

He stated: “As you are all aware, the 2023 Presidential and National Assembly elections will hold on Saturday, February 25, 2023, followed two weeks later by the Governorship and State Assembly elections on Saturday, March 11, 2023.

“In our effort to make voting more credible and result management more transparent, the Commission introduced a number of innovations facilitated by technology.

“Equally, we expanded voter access to Polling Units by establishing 56,872 new ones, in order to give Nigerians a more pleasant experience on Election Day. As I have said repeatedly, the right to vote can only be exercised where there is a place to vote. Arising from the recent mock accreditation exercise nationwide using the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS), some voters turned up at the wrong polling units.

“This happened both in cases where voters have been migrated to other polling units by the Commission and even where they voluntarily chose new voting locations during the last Continuous Voter Registration (CVR). We believe that there could other voters in the same situation. This challenge must be addressed so that It does not happen on Election Day.

“In order to ease the process, the Commission is sending bulk phone text messages (SMS) to citizens voting in new polling units. Similarly, the register of such voters for each State has been sent to the Resident Electoral Commissioners for publicity, particularly through messages in local languages.

The INEC chairman disclosed that the Commission is offering two unique ways by which all voters can locate and confirm their PUs before election day.

“This can be done by sending a normal text message or by simply visiting our website. The detailed procedure is attached to this message and also uploaded to our website and social media platforms. You can also send enquiries to our various public outreach platforms shown in the attached procedure.

“I urge all eligible voters to confirm their voting locations ahead of election day. In doing so, you would be contributing to our avowed commitment to deliver credible, inclusive, transparent elections.”