Senate directs INEC to enfranchise IDPs in N/East
he Senate has passed a resolution directing the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to establish polling units in camps of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in the North East.
The motion was adopted after a bill seeking to grant voting powers to the IDPs came up for second reading in the upper chamber.
Sponsored by Senator Mohammed Ali Ndume (APC, Borno), the legislation is seeking to amend the Electoral Act 2010 to grant the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) powers to establish polling units in IDPs’ camps across the country.
At least 1.5 million people displaced by the Boko Haram insurgency in North-east Nigeria may not be able to vote in elections if the law is not changed, an electoral official has told the BBC.
Discrepancies in the law needed to be resolved in “very good time” or people could be disenfranchised, he added.
But the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) said it was determined to ensure that the elections took place in all parts of the country.
The vote could be held on a staggered basis and areas could be secured with “proper deployment” of the security forces, INEC spokesman Nick Dazang told BBC Focus on Africa.
INEC was distributing voter cards to displaced people, many of whom were living in camps, but discrepancies in Nigeria’s Electoral Act needed to be “reconciled”, he added.
However, leading debate on the general principles and merits of the proposed legislation, Senator Ndume argued that the quality of elections is measured by accommodation to enfranchise voters who are marginalised.
Ndume maintained that the bill is about enfranchising Nigerians who are victims of the security situation of the country as well as natural disasters.
Chairman of Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC) and national chairman of the National Conscience Party (NCP), Dr Yunusa Tanko, insisted that the displaced persons from Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states must be allowed to vote in the 2015 general elections.
“What we want is that every eligible Nigerian should vote in that election. It is not the wish of the displaced persons from the North-east not to take part in the electoral process. For now, the Electoral Act has not been amended but there must be a way that the displaced persons will be legally allowed to vote because their vote is their power,” he said.
Similarly, national chairman and presidential candidate of the United Progressive Party (UPP), Chief Chekwas Okorie said the National Assembly should swiftly ensure that the Electoral Act is amended to enable the displaced vote.
Also, national chairman of the Progressive Peoples Alliance (PPA) Peter Ameh stated that it would be a disservice to the displaced if they are disenfranchised.