The Independent National Electoral
Commission (INEC) said it would
commence Continuous Voter
Registration in Kogi and Bayelsa on
Sept. 2 through Sept. 7, ahead of the
governorship elections in both states.
According to the commission's daily
bulletin issued on Monday in Abuja, the
exercise will take place at the local
government areas in the states from 8
a.m. to 4 p.m. daily.
It stated that the five-day exercise would
afford opportunity for three groups of
eligible persons to be registered.
The groups, the commission said, were
those who were eligible but did not
register before the 2015 general
elections and who were registered but
their names were not in the voters'
register.
"The other is those who have attained
the age of 18 years since the last
registration exercise,'' it added.
The commission, therefore, urged
prospective voters in both states to turn
out and take advantage of the exercise
to register in order to vote in the
forthcoming elections.
It stated that the commission had
already had a stakeholders meeting in
Kogi and would have a similar one in
Bayelsa on Thursday.
Meanwhile, the commission has urged
election observers to continue to make
meaningful observations and
recommendations that would further
strengthen the electoral process.
Its bulletin quoted the Director of Voter
Education and Publicity, Mr Oluwole
Osaze-Uzzi, as making the call at a
stakeholders' post-election review of
gender responsiveness during elections.
It said that Osaze-Uzzi, who was
represented by the Deputy Director of
Publicity of the commission, Mr Nick
Dazang, said that INEC had immensely
benefited from the recommendation of
elections observers.
He said that such recommendations had
been factored into the commission's
plans towards strengthening the
country's electoral process.
"It is what observers say about an
election that gives it credibility.
"That is why it is always important,
especially for a growing democracy like
that of Nigeria, to always factor and
invite observers and report the process
before, during and after the election,''
Osaze-Uzzi said.
source:-NAN