SERAP threatens to sue INEC for ending voter registration

Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has urged Professor Mahmood Yakubu, the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to allow Nigerians who have carried out their voter registration online to complete the process.

INEC recently disclosed that out of 10,487,972 Nigerians who carried out their pre-registration online, only 3,444,378 completed the process at physical centres.

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SERAP, in an August 13 letter signed by its deputy director, Kolawole Oluwadare, said closing the gates on eligible Nigerians and denying them the time and opportunity to complete their registration could not preserve trust in the electoral process.

“Denying a significant number of eligible voters the time and opportunity to complete the registration for their PVCs would impair the right to vote of those affected, deny them a voice in the 2023 elections, and lead to disparate and unfair treatment of these voters.

“The failure of the applicants to complete their registration may be due to factors entirely outside of their control, especially given the well-documented challenges faced by many Nigerians at registration centres across the country,” the letter read in part.

The organisation threatened to sue the commission if the recommended measures were not taken within seven days.