PDP urges INEC to prioritize election integrity over polling units expansion

Lagos State Chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to prioritize election integrity over expansion of polling units ahead of 2023 polls.

Lagos PDP Spokesman, Taofik Gani, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday that INEC should rather direct its efforts at achieving robust electoral reform that would make people’s votes count.

Gani said: “The issues of INEC and acceptable election processes are beyond polling units. Creating 100 PUs on a street won’t change the integrity problem in our elections.

“Why can’t we have electronic voting linked to voters’ ID and the election can be done online,” Gani added.

NAN reports that 25 years after the last creation of polling units in Nigeria, INEC on Feb. 5, commenced engagement with stakeholders on expansion of voters’ access to polling units.

INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, at the commission’s stakeholders meeting with political parties’ leaders in Abuja, said expanding voter access to polling units was crucial to voter turnout in elections.

Yakubu said experience had shown that enhanced voter access to polling units increased turnout in elections.

In a communique signed by the 16 parties physically present at the meeting, leaders of the parties resolved that there was merit in INEC’s proposal in converting the existing voting points and voting points settlement nationwide to full fledged polling units to address the problem of voter access.

They also resolved that the commission should commence the process of conversion based on clearly articulated guidelines to be developed by INEC and shared with stakeholders.

INEC currently has 119,973 Polling Units across the country.