Nigeria is moving closer towards electoral reforms that will introduce early voting and curb the disenfranchisement of more than two million citizens who don’t vote because of official engagements far from their registered polling stations on election day, Senator Abdulaziz Musa Yaradua has said.
According to Yar’Adua, a brother to late President Shehu Yar’Adua who represents Katsina Central senatorial district, the rapid progress of his Early Voting bill at the Senate brings hope to not less than one million ad-hoc staff of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and one million others, including 310,973 police personnel and about , 144,800 election observers.
In a statement released by his Media Unit in Abuja at the weekend, Senator Yar’Adua emphasised that the Senate’s passage of his bill on Early Voting for second reading last Thursday is bringing Nigeria closer to a more inclusive electoral process.
“In a major step toward strengthening Nigeria’s democracy, the Senate has passed the Early Voting Bill for second reading, bringing the country closer to a more inclusive electoral process; the bill aims to address voter disenfranchisement, particularly among security personnel, electoral officials, and other essential workers who are unable to vote on Election Day.
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“The move comes in response to the widespread exclusion of about two million eligible voters who were on official assignments during the 2023 general elections; among those affected were police officers, military personnel, election observers, and ad-hoc staff, who were on duty during the elections but had no opportunity to cast their ballots.
“The bill’s passage is a significant step towards aligning Nigeria’s electoral system with international best practices and ensuring that all eligible adult citizens have the opportunity to perform their civic rights; several African countries, including South Africa, Namibia, Ghana, and Senegal, have successfully implemented early voting, resulting in higher voter turnout rates,” Senator Yar’Adua stated.
Pointing out that many proponents of electoral reforms have consistently advocated for the implementation of such idea towards enhancing voter participation and improving election security, Senator Yar’Adua noted that if security personnel can vote early, they can focus fully on their duty of protecting voters on Election Day.
“The bill’s passage is a response to the alarming number of disenfranchised voters in the 2023 General Elections, which included over one million INEC ad-hoc staff, 310,973 police personnel, 93,495 military and Department of State Service (DSS) personnel, 51,000 personnel from the National Security and Civil Defense Corps (NSCDC), 21,000 from the Federal Road Safety Corps, 11,336 from the Nigeria Correctional Service, 9,447 from the National Drugs Law Enforcement Agency and at least, 350 Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) operatives.
“In addition, 144,800 election observers deployed by 196 national and domestic election-monitoring organisations to locations that are far from where they registered were also unable to vote.
“Key provisions of the bill that passed the Senate’s Second Reading stage last Thursday include those on eligibility and registration; eligible individuals, including security personnel, electoral officials, and those deemed eligible by the commission, must apply thirty days before the early voting date.
“The implementation and voting procedure is that a designated early voting date will be set, not more than seven days before the general election, and voting centers will be established by INEC.”