CVR: Security deployment, other challenges dodging successes -Yiaga Africa

The Yiaga Africa has called for the strengthening of security at the designated physical registration centres for the ongoing Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise in the country.

This is contained in the 29-page Yiaga Africa Voter Registration Observation Report signed by the Director of Programs, Yiaga Africa, Ms. Cynthia Mbamalu on Tuesday in Abuja.

The report also said that while young people are leveraging the online platform as shown by INEC’s data, they are not completing the physical registration.

According to her, with the continuous voter registration (CVR) still ongoing at the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Local Government area centres’, the organisation’s Watching the Vote (WTV) trained observers continued to observe the process in 151 INEC registration centres across the six geo-political zones.

“Yiaga Africa still reports the poor deployment of security personnel to the registration centres as shown in Appendix 1 and the near absence of political parties or their agents during this continuous voter registration exercise.

“Yiaga Africa notes that due to security threats in Gusau, Anka, Shinkafi, Zurmi and Bungudu LGAs in Zamfara state, citizens turnout to register was low. In Anambra and other states in the South-East, the confusion around the sit-at-home order on Mondays have also impacted on the exercise,” the report said.

Youths registering online, shunning physical capturing

The report, however, commended INEC for bringing the CVR process closer to the people in Anambra State by decentralizing the process to Registration Area/Wards in the state from 30 August to 5 September 2021 ahead of the November 6 Governorship election.

“INEC’s data as of 30th August 2021 indicates that a total of 2,485,770 new registrants completed the online pre-registration. While a total of 569,828 registration have completed both the online and in-person (physical) registration, with Anambra state recording a total of 39,428 completed registration. This is reasonable progress.

“However, there is an opportunity for improvement, because in the five weeks of the commencement of the physical (in-person) CVR exercise, only 23 percent of those who registered online have concluded their voter registration in the INEC designated centres,” it said.

The report which said that this also indicates that young people are leveraging the online platform as shown by INEC’s data but are not completing the physical registration, called for measures for more citizens engagement by INEC and stakeholders to mobilize intending registrants who have completed the online process to ensure they complete the registration at the INEC CVR centres for physical aspect of the exercise.

Mbamalu said the findings of the report was based on its WTV observers reporting from 151 INEC registrations centres across Adamawa, Anambra, Plateau, Kano, Rivers, Lagos and FCT; apart from reports from its roving observers from Cross Rivers, Ekiti, Bayelsa and Zamfara states.