FCT elections: Voting won’t take place in 593 polling units – INEC

As preparations for the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Area Council elections reach their climax, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has told stakeholders that there will be no election in 593 polling units.

This is as a result of the non-deployment of registered voters to the affected polling units, which cuts across the six council areas of the FCT.

According to the Chairman of INEC, Mahmood Yakubu, elections will take place in 1,328 polling units having between 0-50 voting populations including 546 polling units with over 1,000 registered voters, respectively.

Yakubu made the disclosure while making a presentation at the Federal Capital Territory Expanded Stakeholders Security meeting, put together by the FCT Administration.

Although the various political party candidates have been going about their campaigns, such will come to an end on February 10, while the elections proper would take place on February 12, 2022.

Yakubu explained that election materials will not be deployed to the affected areas, hence voters should not bother going to such places.

It was recalled that INEC recently created additional polling units across the country, owing to logistic challenges identified during election days.

It was uncovered that the majority of the voting population usually have challenges commuting to where their polling units are located, a situation that indirectly encouraged voter apathy.

Beyond this, INEC relocated some polling units, previously inside shrines and private residences of powerful individuals, to open locations as it was observed that such actions were aiding and abetting rigging and other vices during elections.

The INEC boss however assured that the affected polling units would be populated with voters before the 2023 general election.

“The support of the traditional, community and religious leaders would be required if we are to deliver on our goals,” Yakubu noted.