The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), on
Tuesday, met with officials of the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS) for
discussions on the modalities for allowing inmates to vote.
Speaking at the meeting which held at the commission’s
headquarters in Abuja, Mahmood Yakubu, INEC chairman, said there are a lot of
areas to be addressed before a decision can be taken on allowing inmates to
vote.
Also at the meeting was Haliru Nababa, controller-general of
the NCoS, who was represented by Daniel Odaro, deputy controller-general in
charge of operations.
Yakubu listed issues such location of polling units, format
for electoral campaigns, access to correctional facilities for election
officials, the media and observers, among others, as concerns that need to be
addressed.
“Section 12(1) of the Electoral Act 2022 lists five
qualifications for registering as a voter in Nigeria because you have to
register as a voter, before the right to exercise that right as a voter is
conferred,” he said.
“That section of the electoral lists five qualifications —
the prospective registrant must be a Nigerian citizen; he or she must be at
least 18 years of age; he or she must originate, reside, or work in the local
government or ward covered by the registration centre; the citizen must present
himself/herself to the registration officer for registration as a voter; he/she
must not be subject to any legal incapacity to vote.
“This is one area we need to discuss so that we know the
categories of inmates that will exercise the right to vote. We, therefore, need
to work things out carefully. We want transparency of the process, because
everything that we do in the commission, particularly when it comes to the
right of citizens to vote, must be done transparently.
“So, will inmates vote outside or inside the prison? Are we
going to set up polling units outside or inside the prisons? Since the majority
of inmates are awaiting trial, we believe some of them are already registered
voters. If they are registered voters, what they will do is to transfer their
registration. Will they transfer their registration to the correctional centres
for that reason?
“Will political parties be allowed to campaign inside the
correctional centres? This is a matter that you need to advise the commission.
Will observers and the media be allowed access to the correctional centres on
election day, so that the process is really transparent? Will INEC officials be
granted access to the correctional centre for voter education? These are
matters that we need to discuss.
“Will elections hold in all 218 federal correctional centres
currently holding inmates nationwide or there are some correctional centres
where this process can start instead of all the 218? We understand that some
correctional centres are not holding inmates at present. So, will the process
be allowed to cover all the 218 centres?
“So, these are some of the issues that we need to carefully
discuss and resolve before a decision is taken. But in principle, the
commission is committed to ensuring that all Nigerians are given the right to
vote and be voted for — but in this particular case, the right to vote, which
is exercisable under the law.
“The sooner we are
able to address these issues, the better for the process. But remember, we have
only a little over seven months to the next general election. But the next
general election is not going to the last conducted by Nigeria. So, even if we
don’t meet all these critical thresholds for 2023, we’ll continue with the
discussions to see what happens beyond 2023.”
Meanwhile, the development comes amid a 2014 judgment by the
federal high court sitting in Benin, Edo state, which affirmed prisoners’ right
to vote during elections.
Advertise on NigerianEye.com to reach thousands of our daily users
No comments
Post a Comment
Kindly drop a comment below.
(Comments are moderated. Clean comments will be approved immediately)
Advert Enquires - Reach out to us at NigerianEye@gmail.com