have been directed to compile and submit an inventory of all election materials in their possession in order to determine existing shortfalls and take early, proactive steps to fill the gaps.
The above direction was given by the chaiman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Mahmood Yakub at the commission’s headquarters on Monday.
According to him, the move is necessary to enable the commission to overcome the logistics challenges it faces during elections promising that the next general election will be better than all previous polls.
“As you are also aware, the commission is committed to deepening the culture of planning for elections.The current five-year plan covering the period 2017-2021 expires this year,” he said.
“For this reason, a committee involving the participation of some Resident Electoral Commissioners was inaugurated a few weeks ago to review the strategic plan and the strategic programme of action to cover the next cycle of five years, 2022-2026″.
“As we continue to plan for the next general elections, the RECs have been directed to compile and submit an inventory of all election materials in order to determine shortfalls and early steps to ensure there are adequacy and availability.”
This is the first meeting the commission is holding with the RECs after series of consultative meetings with political parties and other stakeholders on the need to create more polling units.
Prof Yakubu also described the current engagements with stakeholders over the proposed expansion of voter access to polling units as well as the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) as “inter-related.”
He revealed the plan to conclude the ongoing consultations and the actual work on the polling units to enable INEC make the new locations public for eligible registrants to choose where they wish to register and vote on Election Day.
