Tuesday 14 June 2016

INEC To Conduct Continous Voter Registration Exercise In Edo, Ondo From 22nd-26th June




….Think out of the box, INEC Chairman tells Operations & Logistics Officer


The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has scheduled the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise for Edo and Ondo states to hold from Wednesday, 22nd to Sunday, 26thJune, 2016.
The five-day exercise will provide an opportunity for the following eligible category of the citizens of Edo and Ondo states to register:
1)   Those who were eligible but did not register before the 2015 General Elections;
2)   Those who are eligible but whose names are not in the Register of Voters; and
3)   Those who have attained the age of 18 (eighteen) years since the last voter registration exercise.

The CVR exercise will take place at the Registration Area Centres/Wards level.  It will also commence daily (during the scheduled five days) from 9.00am to 4.00pm.

Every person who is qualified for registration and who has presented himself/herself for registration shall be registered with the following:
a)   The registrant’s name;
b)   The registrant’s age;
c)   The registrant’s gender;
d)   The registrant’s occupation;
e)   Address within the area;
f)     The registrant’s phone number and or e-mail address (Optional);
g)   The registrant’s photograph;
h)   The name of the State where registration is taking place;
i)     The name of the Local Government Area/Area Council of registration;
j)     Name and code number of the registration unit;
k)   The registrant’s ten fingerprints; and
l)     National identity card number (where available).

1.   No person shall register in more than one registration centre, or register more than once in the same registration centre;
2.   Any person who registers in more than one registration centre commits an offence, and is liable to prosecution;
3.   Only eligible voters who have registered and have their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) will be allowed to vote in the Edo and Ondo Governorship elections scheduled for Saturday, 10thSeptember and Saturday, 26th November, 2016, respectively; and
4.   The Smart Card Reader (SCR) will be deployed to verify and authenticate eligible voters during accreditation for the two elections.

At any time during the continuous registration of voters, an applicant may apply to the Resident Electoral Commissioner in the State where the voter is currently resident through the Registration Officer to be transferred to a new constituency, provided that this is done not later than 45 days before the dates of the two governorship elections.

Meanwhile, the INEC Chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu has charged Operations and Logistics Officers across the country to think out of the box so that at the end of the day the Commission would be better informed, enthusiastic and equipped with knowledge of effective electoral, operational and logistical strategies towards the 2019 General Elections.

Professor Yakubu urged the officers to deliberate on the major challenges of electoral operations and logistics and to generate ideas and come up with strategic and implementable recommendations.

The INEC Chairman who was represented by Dr. Muhammad Mustapha Lecky, a National Commissioner and a member of the Electoral Operations and Logistics Committee (EOLC) identified a number of thorny issues which he insisted could not be glossed over. They include: responding to communities' desire to maximize voters turn out by ensuring fair and adequate provision of Polling Units (PUs) which if not addressed would lead to disenfranching size able proportion of voters; the integrity of Election Materials, especially with regard to their availability and correct identification and distribution to specific locations; late arrival of materials, especially ballot papers and result sheets and the adequacy of transportation arrangements, especially for difficult terrains.

The INEC Chairman called the attention of amendments visited to the Electoral Act at the eve of the 2015 General Elections. He said the amendments had implications for electoral operations and logistics and they needed to be thoroughly examined ahead of the 2019 General Elections and others pending.

Speaking at the five-day workshop which is taking place at Westown Hotel, Ikeja, Lagos, the Chairman of the Electoral Operations and Logistics Committee, Hajiya Amina Bala Zakari, observed that the workshop was the first of its kind in the Commission's annals. She charged the participants to strategize and make useful inputs which would subsequently be factored into the impending 2017-2021 Strategic Plan.

In his goodwill message, the President of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport, Major General U.T. Usman (rtd) expressed delight that the Commission was partnering with his Institute in organizing the workshop. He appealed to INEC to put its Operations and Logistics staff to go through his Institute's training and certification.

The Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILT) was founded in 1958.


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