Worried by the pervasive fears and misgivings amongst the electorate on the integrity of the upcoming 2019 general elections, BudgIT has called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to publish immediately the total number of voters cards collected in all states.
The civil advocacy group, which applies technology to intersect citizen engagement with institutional improvement to facilitate societal change, in a statement issued on Tuesday by its Communication Associate, Shakir Akorede, pointed out that this remained the most reasonable option for the election umpire to pursue in view of its assurance of fair and credible elections.
BudgIT noted that without any travesty, the administrative and political tensions surrounding the 2019 general elections constituted manifest threats to free, fair and credible elections in Nigeria.
It stated further: “In the presence of contentious accusations of rigging – flying from both sides of the political divide – coupled with the abrupt ‘logistic’ failure of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), we are deeply worried about the secrecy in which the major data that can safeguard the elections from possible manipulations is being confined.
“According to the electoral commission, there are 84 million registered voters for the general elections. However, questions from both local and international observers remain: What is the total number of collected voters’ cards across the country?
The civil organisation maintained that “84 million registered voters” was vague and susceptible to manipulation the very moment Nigerians are barred from the actual data of collected PVCs, adding that 52 million as of February 17, 2015, this data was published – regular updates in fact – in the last elections.
It expressed its concern that the hesitation by INEC to do the needful continued to casts immense doubts around the electoral body’s integrity and by implication, the credibility of the upcoming elections.
“We’re calling, once again, on INEC to publish immediately the total number of voters cards collected in all states. In the pursuance of fair elections, this is the right thing. Nigerians should, amidst many uncertainties, have data of expected votes”, BudgIT demanded.
