INEC counsels, don’t just march, vote correctly so that no ballot is invalidated in crucial election to ‘take back Nigeria’ from cabals, racketeers, and thieves
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
Registered voters have been advised by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to cast their ballots correctly on Election Day so that none is invalidated and all can be counted in the election in 2023 and beyond.
INEC make the clarion call at the weekend, just before Obidients trooped out in the largest political rally – not based on tribe, nor religion, and in which marchers are not given bribe – that Nigeria has ever witnessed in its 62 years of independence.
Obidients – supporters of Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate Peter Obi – poured on the streets in their thousands and millions in Kaduna, Gombe, Jos, Lagos, Asaba, Aba, Uyo, and everywhere else to express their determination to elect him President and take their country back from heartless treasury looters.
But, to realise their vision of a new and better Nigeria, they must vote, and vote correctly, and standby and see that their votes are counted and transmitted electronically from polling units to collation centres on 25 February.
INEC Voter Education Assistant Director Dorothy Inyang stressed the point at a Voter Education Innovative Dragons’ Den Competition in Abuja, which was held before the Obi rallies.
The event was organised by Consortium for Elections and Political Process Strengthening and International Foundation for Electoral Systems to pitch to civil society innovative proposals for effective and inclusive voter education campaigns.
“We have released the guidelines for the elections; even the list of candidates for the Presidential and National Assembly elections have also been released …
“We are telling Nigerians to pay attention to the manifestoes of political parties and what each candidate has to offer so that they can make their informed choices,” Inyang said.
“Considering the size of the nation, all hands, therefore, should be on deck to provide voter education.”
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Contribution of civil society
“Top on the lists of those who are to be involved in these are registered civil society organisations who have passions in civic responsibilities to educate the citizens to be alive to their responsibilities to issues like voting,” Iyang added, per The PUNCH.
“The implication of not voting properly on Election Day is going to have a setback on the outcome of the election because if a voter has a choice to make but while at the polling booth, he or she is unable to mark the ballot paper properly, something drastic would happen because that voter may lose his or her vote for their preferred candidate.
“This means they may likely allow another candidate to take over their winning candidate. So it is important that voters mark ballot papers correctly.”
“As it is right now, PVCs are being distributed at all INEC Local Government offices and there is actually a timetable. For voters that registered from 2011 to January 19 2021, their PVCs are ready because their collection started in August.
“For those who registered between June 2021 and January 2022, their PVCs would be ready next month October and for those that registered in July 2022, their PVCs would be ready in November 2022.”
