INEC Harps On Increased Voters Participation

INEC Chairman Attahiru Jega said in Abuja that the commission was determined to ensure increased voter participation in the nation’s electoral process.

Jega said this at a workshop with the theme; “Voter Apathy in Nigeria,” organized by INEC and Friedrich Ebert-Stiftung (FES) Foundation.

He was represented by Prof. Lai Olurode, the INEC National Commissioner in-charge of research.

Jega said that voter turnout in the just concluded general elections provided empirical evidence of the existence of voter apathy in elections.

“We as a commission are determined to enlarge participation in the election process as well as cherish means of aggregating preferences,” he said.

He said that an apathetic citizenry contributed to waste of investments.

Earlier, Mr Thomas Mttig, the Friedrich Ebert-Stiflung (FES) Resident Representative, said that findings from the research carried out by the foundation during the April polls showed that support for democracy and enthusiasm about elections were high.

“But people were discouraged by violence or by electoral fraud,” Mattig said.

He argued that if violence and electoral fraud were reduced, “people will be more emthusiastic to go out and vote, to exercise their right and democracy will be strengthened.”

Also, Mr Adigun Agbaje, the Lead Researcher, said that people in the rural areas displayed more intentions to vote than those in the urban areas.

He said that emphasis was put on the poor performance by  politicians for the  low voter turnout.

Agbaje said that voter apathy was likely to continue if politicians failed to redeem their promises when they got to office.

The Tide reports that the research report recommended that security issues and the issue of performance by elected officials be addressed.

The workshop presented findings from the field work carried out in the six geo-political zones of the country.

It also served as a platform for key stakeholders and development partners to extend the frontiers of citizenship and widen the scope of participation in elections and governance process.