Ahead of the November governorship election, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has commenced move to relocate polling units from shrines and odd places.
This was made known on Monday by the state Resident Electoral Commission REC Mr. Mkpachukwu Orji.
Orji said currently, there are over 1000 polling units in houses of traditional rulers, churches, houses of political office holders, among others in Anambra.
He spoke in Awka, the state capital, during a stakeholders forum on expansion of voters access to polling units.
“Those polling units in such inappropriate places are not good for our elections. Most time, people see them as personal polling units. We want to make the polling units accessible to all voters,” he said .
Orji said that the commission will also increase the polling units in the state from 4,608 to 5,720 to give access to more voters.
He also regretted that less than 30 percent of the registered voters in the state cast their votes in the last general election.
He called on the stakeholders in the state to mobilise voters to actively participate in the forthcoming governorship election.
He also disclosed that voters registration in the state would commence on 28th of June 2021 to get those who were not eligible last time but eligible now to participate in the election.
Commending the commission for expanding the electoral access, the Chairman of Anambra State People’s Democratic Party PDP, Chief Ndubisi Nwobu, and the Special Adviser to Governor Willie Obiano on Political Matters Mr. Ifatu Obiokoye, regretted that INEC took such decision without seeking inputs from the stakeholders in the state .
They said that if the INEC had consulted them before deciding to relocate polling units, they would have made useful inputs since they are the people on ground.
They called on the umpire to make available to them the new polling units and the ones to be relocated to enable them study and make necessary suggestions and inputs for a seamless election.
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