The National Orientation Agency (NOA) in Anambra State has lamented growing cases of void votes in elections in the state.
The Deputy Director, Joseph Uchendu stated this during final report sharing on the November governorship poll by Justice Development and Peace Caritas (JDPC) in partnership with Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO).
He said the trend was more worrisome in view of the greater number of enlightened electorate and hightened campaign to address the menace.
He however assured that more efforts would be committed to mitigating such incidences ahead of the 2023 general elections
He said, “Void votes is very critical to us in NOA. It’s just like voters wasting their mandates. Sometimes, we see it as indictment on us
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“We must find a way to reduce or mitigate incidences of void votes during election because it’s not palatable at all.
“Our efforts has always remained, more and more graphic public enlightenment. We must redouble our efforts ahead of the general elections.”
The Deputy Director however identified paucity of funds as one of the factors hindering the agency from carrying out its mandate, calling for assistance.
“Initially, we had public sensitization with vehicles. But they are no longer there. We’re crying to government to assist us with more vehicles to carry out campaigns and empower our people,” he added.
Earlier, Manager, JDPC Onitsha/FCDO project, Mr Alphonsus Nwoye stressed the need to improve on previous election processes for better outcomes in the coming general election.
He said such improvement would help sustain the country’s nascent democracy.