FCT Council polls: Yiaga Africa condemns allocation of voters to new polling units

A civil society organisation, Yiaga Africa has condemned the allocation of voters to new polling units before the Federal Capital Territory Area Council elections.

Recall that some voters were relocated to new polling units, a few hours before the polls by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

Speaking on the electoral body’s action, Yiaga Africa’s director of programmes, Cynthia Mbamalu, said the process marred the election across the councils.

According to Mbamalu, INEC failed to fulfil its duty to inform voters of the change in their polling units in advance.

She said, several voters found out about the change in their PUs late and were frustrated.

She added that most of these voters did not have the patience to move around town in search of their new PUs to cast their votes.

She also stated that this led to the disenfranchisement of some voters who resorted to going back to their homes.

“The commencement of polls was delayed in some polling units, impacting logistics management.

“Setup for voting materials was still ongoing as late as 9:00 AM for a process scheduled to begin at 8:30 AM, resulting in voters waiting for officials.

“Additionally, many voters were reassigned to new polling units without prior notification.

“Some voters only received messages about their reallocation hours after voting had started, leading to frustration and some voters giving up and returning home without casting their ballots,” Mbamalu said.

Speaking further, Mbamalu said this incident is clear evidence of the need to always inform voters about any form of reallocation and fresh codes ahead of elections.

“This issue highlights the need for informing voters about polling unit reallocations and new codes well in advance of elections,” Mbamalu added.