Nigeria to begin voter registration ahead of 2019 polls

Nigeria's Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Thursday said its proposed April date for the commencement of its Continuous Voter Registration has not changed.

Arrangements are on course to ensure the exercise takes off smoothly as scheduled, Mahmood Yakubu, Chairman of the Commission told reporters in Abuja, the nation's capital city.

Yakubu said the exercise would be held throughout the 774 Local Government Areas of the country.

"We are going to consult again with the Resident Electoral Commissioners and Administrative Secretaries to sort out two things -- the venues and the numbers of machines we are going to use," he said.

The chairman told reporters that the process will continue beyond the general elections in 2019.

Yakubu advised Nigerians who are 18 years and above to take advantage of the opportunity and not disenfranchise themselves.

He also advised registered voters, who were yet to collect their Permanent Voters Cards (PVCs), to visit the commission's offices where they registered to obtain them.

The electoral body had in February fixed Feb. 16, 2019 for Presidential and National Assembly elections, while Governorship, State Assembly and Federal Capital Territory Area Councils polls will hold on 2 March of same year.

Solomon Soyebi, National Commissioner of the commission in charge of publicity, said fixing of the dates was part of efforts by INEC to standardize and ensure certainty of timetable for general elections in the country.

Soyebi gave instances that in the United States general elections always held on the second Tuesday of November in the election year.

And, in Ghana, according to him, it is Dec. 7 of election year, while in other places like Mexico, Norway, Sweden, Costa Rica and Switzerland, the dates are also known in advance.

In Nigeria, the Constitution provides for the elections to hold not earlier than 150 days and not later than 30 days to the end of the incumbent's tenure. Endit