New Inec polling units cause controversy as over two thirds of them are in the north Monday, 25 August 2014 09:59 FRESH controversy has arisen regarding the conduct of next years elections after the Independent National Electoral Commission (Inec) announced that 21,625 of the new 30,000 polling units will be located in northern Nigeria. As part of its preparations for the elections, Inec is planning to register the new units to cater for fresh and first-time voters. However, some political analysts have raised eyebrows at the fact that over two-thirds of these new units will be located in northern Nigeria and expressed fears that it may lead to abuse. In 2011, Inec fought hard to combat the traditional menace of ghost voters across Nigeria, which has been one of the banes of past elections. Under the practise, many communities register non-existent voters, including animals, the dead and children in a bid to boost their electoral clout. There are now fears that several politicians across northern Nigeria may abuse the numerical advantage the new Inec exercise has provided them with to register millions of ghost voters. Of Inecs 30,000 new polling units, 21,615 are located in the north of the country, compared with 8,412 in southern Nigeria. Inec chairman, Professor Attahiru Jega, has come under fierce criticism following the exercise, with critics saying it could ruin his reputation. There are fears that the registration of the new polling units could lead to widespread rigging across northern Nigeria come the 2015 presidential elections. One political analyst said: On paper, the provision and allocation of new polling units numbering over 30,000, may be desirable at least in the light of the congestion at polling stations during the 2011 general elections. However, this provision is only desirable in so far as it reflects the realities on ground. What has happened, however, is that Nigeria’s Inec, led by Professor Jega, has insinuated itself into a dangerous political game which defies simple logic. After carrying out a cleaning exercise to sanitise the voter register, which has reduced the total number of validly registered voters in the country, the same Inec has gone ahead to allocate its new 30,000 units in such a manner that some states that had already lost so much to ghost registration still ended up getting more polling units. At a recent meeting of Inec commissioners, several of them expressed reservations at the lopsided allocation of the polling units. According to Inec sources, tempers flared at the meeting as commissioners from the south wanted to know the rationale behind the allocation of the units
Posted on: Tue, 26 Aug 2014 05:58:10 +0000
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