The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC says it did not migrate any voter to new polling units ahead of the last Saturday’s Area Council elections in the Federal Capital Territory, dismissing claims of last-minute reshuffling that allegedly disrupted voting.
In a statement signed by the Chief Press Secretary to the Commission’s Chairman, Adebayo Oketola, the split polling units being debated were created as far back as February 2022 under its Expansion of Voters’ Access to Polling Units initiative, aimed at reducing congestion at overcrowded voting points.
Nationwide, the exercise saw over 56,000 new polling units created with 6.7 million voters redistributed from congested centres.
INEC says in the FCT alone, 411 polling units were decongested, with about 580,000 voters spread across 1,156 nearby voting points.
It noted that the split polling units are located just metres away from original locations within the same premises, designed to ease accreditation and speed up voting using additional BVAS devices.
To address this, the Commission said it sent targeted text messages and emails to affected voters in the days leading to the elections as it urges citizens to verify their polling details using the Commission’s online locator.
INEC advises all voters to confirm their polling units ahead of future elections to avoid last-minute confusion, reiterating its commitment to improving service delivery and the voting experience.
(Editor: Terverr Tyav)
