THE Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has projected a voting population of about 95 million for the 2023 general elections in the country.
The INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, stated this today at an election security management training held in Abuja and organised by the Nigeria Police Force for the police and other security personnel ahead of the elections.
He added that the figure was 20 million higher than the combined voting population for the 14 other countries in West Africa.
The INEC chairman noted that preparations for the elections, deployment and implementation are the most extensive mobilisation that could happen in a country.
Yakubu said: “In Nigeria, the elections preparation involves the recruitment and training of staff and managing the logistics for their deployment to 176,846 polling units spread across 8,809 electoral wards, 774 local areas and 37 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
“It also involves a projected voter population of about 95 million for the 2023 general election, which is over 20 million more than the combined voter population of the other 14 countries in West Africa.
“Voters will also elect candidates for 1,491 constituencies (one presidential constituency, 28 governorship elections, 109 senatorial districts, 360 federal Constituencies and 993 state assembly seats).”
He also stressed the importance of safety and security of voters, election personnel and materials, candidates, party agents, observers, the media and transporters before and during the elections.
He said that the responsibility had become more challenging because of the current security situation in the country.
“Already, the commission, under the auspices of the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES) has produced and periodically revised the code of conduct and rules of engagement for security personnel on electoral duty.
“In the next few weeks, the code of conduct as well as our training manuals will be revised to align them with the provisions of the Electoral Act 2022,” the INEC chief added.
