INEC Assures On Upgrading Ekiti Voters’ Register

The Independent Na tional Electoral Commission (INEC) has assured that it would update the voters’ register in Ekiti before the 2014 governorship election in the state.

The Resident Electoral Commissioner, Alhaji Hussaini Pai, gave the assurance at a press briefing on the activities of the commission.

He said that updating the voters’ register was necessary in order to register eligible voters who had attained the voting age since the last exercise and those who relocated to the state.

Pai said the commission would create new polling units before the election to decongest some of the centres, noting that some of the polling units had up to 2000 voters.

The commissioner said a committee responsible for the delineation would visit the state and meet with all stakeholders.

He also said that a four-year Strategic Plan for the training of the commission’s staff nationwide had been articulated with the asssistance of the United Nations Development Programme.

Pai said the training would include reviewing the vision of the commission, the contribution of stakeholders to INEC activities and staff training on election management.

He assured that the electronic voting system would be adopted by the commission whenever the constitution was amended to include that, and expressed conviction that the system would be cheaper and free from manipulation.