Voter Registration: PDP wants Impartiality from INEC

The People’s Democratic Party, PDP, in Rivers State, has urged the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, impartiality as it gets set to commence the nationwide Continuous Voter Registration on April 27 across the 774 Local Government Areas of the federation.

The PDP Chairman, Rivers State chapter, Bro Felix Obuah, called on the Commission to ensure the exercise was transparent and devoid of discrimination, manipulation and intimidation.

Bro Obuah also welcomed the INEC exercise, stating that it would improve the data base and increase voters’ participation in the forthcoming general elections, only if it was done credibly and without bias by the handlers of the process.

The party chairman called on Prof Mahmood Yakubu, the INEC boss, as well as the INEC Commissioner, Mrs Amina Zakari not to see the exercise as another opportunity to demonstrate their preference and ‘loyalty’ to a particular political party and section of the country.

“INEC should rather prove to Nigerians that they are detribalized, apolitical, and objectively carrying out the mandate of a federal and ‘independent’ Commission,” he said.

He said that the Voter Registration exercise offers the Commission another opportunity to correct its already battered image, by doing the right and proper thing and to ensure that all units and wards in the 774 LGAs in the 36 States and the Federal Capital Territory are accurately covered in terms of fresh registration and distribution of uncollected Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs).

The PDP Chairman observed that apart from helping to consolidate the nation’s democracy, the success of the nationwide Continuous Voter Registration would greatly impact on the conduct of the forthcoming elections, and therefore put the Commission on test as it engages in the exercise.

The Party therefore, called on all eligible citizens, particularly all those who have turned 18 years of age since the last registration, as well as those who did not register during the last exercise, to come out enmass to the various registration centres and ensure they are duly registered.

The PDP also urged all its members and eligible electorate who have the Temporary Voters Cards (TVCs) but whose names are on the register to ensure they collect their PVCs to avoid being issued to impostors by unscrupulous elements and agents of the All Progressives Congress, APC, as witnessed in previous elections.

The Rivers PDP Chairman further charged all relevant security agencies and institutions to commit themselves more to ensuring that the voter registration exercise was not manipulated by the ruling party, the APC, or compromised by officials of the Commission, as every qualified Nigerian has the right of participation in the exercise, as contained in the Electoral Act 2016 (as amended) without being intimidated, denied, or coerced by any superior power or authority.

“It’s important that the Commission ensures its staff involved in the registration are always at their duty post during the hours of the exercise, and not to hoard the PVCs/TVCs, and to allow equal free access to all potential registrants, no matter the sex, political affiliation, State of origin, or religions background”, Obuah emphasized.