The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has hinted that it could approach the National Assembly for the amendment of the electoral law to allow and accommodate people on essential duties to vote on election days.
As reported by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), the Chairman of the Electoral Umpire, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, gave the hint while speaking on Wednesday in Lagos during a post-election review meeting with media stakeholders.
Yakubu said journalists and security agents, such as policemen, soldiers, and others, including staff of the commission, should be able to cast their ballots during elections despite being on official duty.
“For instance, there are many Nigerians who did not have the opportunity to vote on election day simply because our laws say that you can only vote where you are registered.
“So, most of the journalists on election day worked in places other than where they are registered, so they don’t have the opportunity to vote.
“This doesn’t apply only to journalists; it also applies to officials of INEC itself—the regular and ad hoc officials, including the security agencies.
“So through this kind of interaction, we get recommendations from stakeholders and will see in what area we are going to approach the National Assembly to amend the laws,” the INEC chairman said.
Evaluating the performance of INEC in the 2023 general elections, Yakubu absolved the commission of any wrongdoing, maintaining that the commission had nothing to hide.
He said there were many positive things that came out of the 2023 elections, despite the many challenges.
Although he admitted that there were challenges during the last elections, he assured that there would be continuous improvement by the commission in the conduct of general elections.
“This is an opportunity for the media executives in their various organizations to tell us what you have seen and how we can continue to improve the electoral process in the future.
“The commission has nothing to hide, and it is through this type of interaction that we continuously improve the process for future elections.
“Clearly, there are many positives coming from the general elections, and at the same time, we admit that there were many challenges in the last election.
“There are several election litigations at the various election tribunals nationwide, and we should be careful not to touch on issues that are clearly sub judice,” Yakubu added.
