Ahead of the 2023 General Elections, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has announced plans to create additional 1,832 Polling Units (PUs) in Ogun.
This it said was part of efforts to expand voting access during the 2023 general elections in the state.
The Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) of INEC in Ogun, Prof. Abdulganiy Raji, said this in Abeokuta on Monday , at a stakeholders’ meeting on Expansion of Voter Access to Polling Units and Commencement of Continuous Voter Registration in the state
Raji explained that when completed, the number of polling units in the state would increase to 5,042.
The REC described the planned expansion as “long overdue”, adding that it was informed by inadequate polling units and difficulty in accessing some of the existing ones because of long distance and harsh terrains.
He added that the expansion became necessary because of emergence of new settlements and estates in the state and the need to avoid overcrowding at polling units during election.
He noted that the problems of Voter Access to polling units had far reaching implications on the quality of elections and democracy in Nigeria.
Raji said that previous attempts to expand voter access to polling units were stalled by “politicisation and conspiracy theories about the commission’s intentions.”
The REC further explained that the commission at a recent meeting, fixed the lower and upper thresholds for voting points to be 500 and 750 voters respectively.
“On the basis of this, additional 1,832 polling units were marked for creation in Ogun from existing polling units.
“This brings the number of units in Ogun from the existing 3,210 to 5,042.
“Memoranda and requests that have been received from communities and stakeholders over the years were collated and considered in arriving at the figures,” he said.
Raji added that the commission would commence the continuous voter registration in the state on June 28.(NAN)
