Presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Mr. Peter Obi, has called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to extend the deadline for the voter registration exercise to enable more Nigerians, especially young people who are turning 18 daily to register to vote.
Mr. Obi, who made the call via a post on his X (former Twitter) platform, titled Why the voter registration exercise should be extended, urged INEC “to consider extending the voter registration window to the latest practical date that still allows adequate time for the preparation of a credible voters’ register before the 2027 general elections.”
Noting that efforts are being made to encourage Nigerians to participate actively in the nation’s democracy, he argued that it would be unfortunate if any of the young Nigerians who are daily attaining the age of 18 and becoming constitutionally eligible to vote are “denied the opportunity to exercise their civic responsibility simply because the registration process closed long before the elections.”
According to the presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the 2023 polls, “this position is legally supported by the High Court judgment delivered on 22 November 2022 in Anaja Salmat & 3 Others v. INEC (Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/1342/2022).”
In that decision, the former Governor of Anambra State pointed out, “the Federal High Court held that voter registration should continue until 90 days before a general election to protect the constitutional voting rights of eligible Nigerians.”
While acknowledging and appreciating “the enormous responsibility placed on INEC to deliver free, fair, and credible elections, .(and)…the need for sufficient time to clean the register and make the necessary logistical preparations,” he, however, insisted that “our electoral process should, as much as possible, maximise participation rather than limit it.
“A democracy is strengthened when every eligible citizen has the opportunity to be heard. I therefore urge INEC to adopt a registration timeline that protects the integrity of the process while ensuring that no eligible Nigerian, especially our young people, is unnecessarily disenfranchised,” he concluded.
