The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has declared that no fewer than 815 polling units have been affected by the migration and redistribution of voters ahead of the forthcoming general elections in Oyo State.
Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in the state, Dr. Adeniran Rahmon Tella made this disclosure while addressing a press conference at the commission’s headquarters in Ibadan on Thursday.
DAILY POST reports that the presidential and national assembly elections have been slated to hold on February 25 while the gubernatorial and state assembly elections have been slated to hold on March 11 this year.
He said that the commission in 2021 expanded voter access to polling units from the initial number of 4,783 by converting the then 1,607 voting points into full fledged polling units that now make the total number of 6,390 Polling Units in the State.
He explained further that the commission, in exercising its powers under Section 40(2) of the electoral act, 2022 allotted voters from overcrowded polling units within the same axis.
He added that the migration and redistribution of the voters from overcrowded ones to less populated polling units so as to promote a more pleasant and stress free voting experience on the days of elections.
He said that 815 polling units were affected in 28 local government areas in the state.
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Tella, while addressing the journalists, explained further that the commission moved the voters from the populated to the less populated polling units in order to make up to, the threshold of 750 voters per polling unit putting into consideration their proximity from one another on election day.
He added that the migration and redistribution of voters from one polling unit was done in consultation with relevant stakeholders in the state.
Tella said, “I warmly welcome you all to this crucial and important media briefing designed to brief you on some of the Commission’s preparation ahead of the forthcoming General Elections specifically on the recently pasted lists of migrated voters from the most populated to the less populated polling units in the state
You may recall that in 2021, the commission successfully expanded voter access to polling units from the initial number of 4,783 by converting the then 1,607 voting points into full fledged polling units that now make the total number of 6,390 polling units in the state.
“The commission, in exercising its powers under Section 40(2) of the Electoral Act, 2022 has allotted voters from overcrowded polling units within the same axis to promote a more pleasant and stress free voting experience on Election Day.
“No doubt, the commission is therefore compelled to brief the media on the efforts of INEC to redistribute voters to the affected 815 polling units in the state. This will prevent the congestion that usually makes voting cumbersome on Election Day,” he said.
