The Independence National Electoral Commission (INEC) and officials of the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS) came together to talk about modalities that will allow inmates to vote in the forthcoming election.
The meeting was held at the commission headquarters in Abuja on Tuesday with Mahmood Yakubu, the INEC chairman alongside Daniel Odaro, the deputy controller-general in charge of operations who represented Haliru Nababa, the controller-general of the NCOs.
According to Mahmood, there are a lot of areas to be addressed before a decision can be taken on allowing inmates to vote and these include the location of polling units, format for electoral campaigns, access to correctional facilities for election officials, the media and observers and many others.
He added that “Section 12(1) of the Electoral Act 2022 lists five qualifications for registering as a voter in Nigeria because you have to register as a voter, before the right to exercise that right as a voter is conferred.
“That section of the electoral lists five qualifications — the prospective registrant must be a Nigerian citizen; he or she must be at least 18 years of age; he or she must originate, reside, or work in the local government or ward covered by the registration center; the citizen must present himself/herself to the registration officer for registration as a voter; he/she must not be subject to any legal incapacity to vote.
“This is one area we need to discuss so that we know the categories of inmates that will exercise the right to vote. We, therefore, need to work things out carefully. We want transparency in the process, because everything that we do in the commission, particularly when it comes to the right of citizens to vote, must be done transparently.
“So, will inmates vote outside or inside the prison? Are we going to set up polling units outside or inside the prisons? Since the majority of inmates are awaiting trial, we believe some of them are already registered, voters. If they are registered voters, what they will do is transfer their registration. Will they transfer their registration to the correctional centers for that reason?
“Will political parties be allowed to campaign inside the correctional centers? This is a matter that you need to advise the commission. Will observers and the media be allowed access to the correctional centers on election day, so that the process is transparent? Will INEC officials be granted access to the correctional center for voter education? These are matters that we need to discuss.
“Will elections hold in all 218 federal correctional centers currently holding inmates nationwide or there are some correctional centers where this process can start instead of all the 218? We understand that some correctional centers are not holding inmates at present. So, will the process be allowed to cover all the 218 centers?
“So, these are some of the issues that we need to carefully discuss and resolve before a decision is taken. But in principle, the commission is committed to ensuring that all Nigerians are given the right to vote and be voted for — but in this particular case, the right to vote, which is exercisable under the law.
“The sooner we can address these issues, the better for the process. But remember, we have only a little over seven months to the next general election. But the next general election is not going to be the last conducted by Nigeria. So, even if we don’t meet all these critical thresholds for 2023, we’ll continue with the discussions to see what happens beyond 2023.”
