The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has asked the National Assembly to support its effort to convert the existing polling points to polling units ahead of the 2023 general elections.
Speaking at a stakeholders’ forum organised by the National Assembly Joint Committee on INEC and Electoral Matters held on Tuesday in Abuja, INEC Chairman Prof Mahmood Yakubu, said the conversion had become imperative to decongest polling units during elections.
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According to him, the current configuration of 119,973 Polling Units was established by the defunct National Electoral Commission of Nigeria (NECON) in 1996.
He said in the past 25 years, no new polling units have been established, despite the increase of the number of registered voters from 57.93 million in 1999 to 84.04 million in 2019.
Senate President Ahmad Lawan assured INEC of the National Assembly’s support to create additional polling units, but added that more needs to be done to mobilise voters to participate in elections.
