Why We Want To Convert Existing Polling Points To Polling Units

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The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has asked
the National Assembly to support its effort to convert the existing
polling points to polling units and to relocate some of them to
underserved areas.

Speaking at a stakeholders’ forum organised by the National
Assembly’s Joint Committee on INEC and Electoral Matters held on
Tuesday in Abuja, INEC Chairman, Prof Mahmood Yakubu, said the
conversion had become imperative to decongest polling units during
elections.

According to him, the current configuration of 119,973 Polling
Units was established by the defunct National Electoral Commission
of Nigeria (NECON) in 1996.

He said since the last 25 years, no new polling units have been
established, despite the increase of the number of registered
voters from 57.93 million in 1999 to 84.04 million in 2019.

The effects, he said, had been low voter turnout and voter
apathy, insecurity at the Polling Units, disruption of elections
and, in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, unsafe voting
environments.

He said the problem was disenfranchising millions of Nigerians
and could damage the credibility of elections in Nigeria if not
solved.

He said in some States in Nigeria, the average number of voters
per Polling Unit is well over 4,000.

“As a result of population growth and establishment of new
settlements and residential areas, existing Polling Units are
increasingly inadequate to guarantee sufficient access to
voters.

“The present ecosystem of Polling Units in Nigeria has been
conducive to overcrowding during elections, which is a recipe for
delays, disruptions, violence and apathy.

“In addition, some Polling Units are located in inaccessible
locations, some in the homes of persons with political leanings and
others in areas of communal conflicts.

“Many of them are in the open, with little cover, thus exposing
voters, election staff and election materials to the elements,” he
said.

He said there was a need to address this problem ahead of
continuous voter registration (CVR), off-season elections and the
2023 General Elections.

The INEC chairman told the lawmakers that previous attempts to
find a permanent solution to the crisis of access to polling units
were undermined by over politicisation of what should be an
administrative matter and inadequate consultation.

According to Yakubu, the conversion of Voting Points into
Polling Units offers the least controversial, timely and
inexpensive solution.

“With over 5,000 specific requests for the establishment of new
Polling Units, the Commission will be failing in its responsibility
if it does not address the declining voter access to Polling Units
across the country prior to upcoming major elections,” he
added.

Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, assured INEC of the National
Assembly’s support to create additional polling units, but added
that “more needs to be done to mobilize voters to participate in
elections.”

He said that the mobilisation of voters to vote was the
responsibility of not only the electoral umpire but also that of
political parties and Civil Society Organisations.

“While we need to create more polling units, we need to also
mobilise voters to go to those polling units to vote,” he
added.