The Independent National Electoral Commission
says it is making arrangements with the Nigeria Prisons Service to ensure that
prisoners are allowed to vote in the 2019 general elections.
The Chairman of INEC, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, said
this in Abuja on Tuesday at a dialogue session with the Nigeria Civil Society
Situation Room Dialogue – a coalition of over 70 civil society organisations in
Nigeria.
The development comes three years after a Federal
High Court in Benin, Edo State, ruled that prisoners in Nigeria have the right
to vote in all elections conducted in the country.
The INEC boss said the commission was looking at
the possibility of creating polling units in Nigerian prisons to allow some
categories of inmates to vote.
He, however, said certain categories of prisoners
would not be allowed to vote depending on the nature of the crimes they
committed.
Yakubu said, “We have already engaged the
Comptroller-General of Prisons and we have statistics on the number of
prisoners nationwide and the number of inmates that are registered.
We are looking at the possibility of creating
polling units in the prisons and to enable some categories of prisoners to
vote.
“Ghana does it but there are some categories of
prisoners who by the nature of crimes committed lose the right to vote.
Whatever we can do to open up the process to ensure that as much as possible
Nigerians are given the opportunity to vote, will be done.”
Also speaking on the forthcoming Anambra
governorship election, the INEC boss said the commission would do everything to
ensure that the election is not inconclusive.
Yakubu raised the alarm over the wrongful
substitution of names of governorship candidates by two political parties ahead
of the governorship election.
He regretted that the high level of
non-compliance to the Electoral Act by the political parties was threatening
the electoral system.
Although the INEC boss declined to name the
parties involved in the wrongful substitution of candidates’ names, he warned
that if the act was eventually challenged in court, the whole election could be
voided on that account and the nation made to bear the financial brunt of
conducting a fresh election.
The Executive Director, Policy and Legal Advocacy
Centre, and Convener of Situation Room, Clement Nwankwo, said the event was
organised to find out the commission’s preparations for the forthcoming Anambra
State governorship poll as well as other elections update.
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