- Suggests funding for massive voter education
From Sola Ojo, Kaduna
Legal Awareness for Nigerian Women (LANW), a Kaduna-based non-governmental organisation, has called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct all national and state elections in a single day.
The group made the call in the wake of the recent governorship and state assembly polls. Hannatu Ahuwan, Acting Executive Director of LANW, stated that conducting all the elections in one day would be cost-effective and reduce the hardship endured by voters during elections.
She added that it would also address the issue of low voter turnout for gubernatorial/state house of assembly elections.
Ahuwan also recommended that INEC make funds available to relevant agencies, such as the National Orientation Agency (NOA) and civil society organisations, with track records, to enable them to embark on massive voter education and sensitisation years before future elections.
She suggested that “INEC, other government agencies responsible for voter education, and the civil society need to improve on the sensitisation drive towards educating the citizenry on how to vote right” to reduce the high number of invalid votes.
The group presented its governorship and state house of assembly elections observation report in Kaduna, which stated that persons with disabilities were marginalised during the elections, contrary to INEC’s earlier assurances on providing inclusive voting materials for this group of Nigerians.
The report also noted that the 2023 gubernatorial and state house of assembly elections had a low turnout in Jaba, Kaura, Jema’a, and Zangon Kataf LGAs of Kaduna state, with exceptions for some communities affected by recent attacks.
The report emphasised that accomplishing a free and fair election is a collective duty shared by the government, voters, observers, election bodies, and all stakeholders. LANW is implementing the Improving Inclusive Participatory Governance Systems Project with support from Christian Aid aimed at improving citizens’ participation in governance processes.
The group trained and supported election observers in 86 polling units across all wards in Jaba, Jema’a, Kaura and Zangon Kataf LGAs to observe the 2023 gubernatorial and state house of assembly elections that took place on March 18, 2023.