The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of Nigeria has officially announced the removal of 7,746 deceased voters from the national voter register, a process that encompasses all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory as of December 2022.
Victoria Etta-Messi, the Director of Voter Education and Publicity at INEC, emphasized the commission's ongoing commitment to maintaining an accurate and reliable voter register.
During a recent briefing, Etta-Messi highlighted that despite this significant progress in updating the register, INEC continues to face challenges, particularly regarding the removal of deceased voters. One major obstacle is the lack of adequate official death records, which complicates the verification process.
INEC acknowledged that collaboration with relevant agencies, such as the National Population Commission and the National Identity Management Commission, is essential for improving this situation.
In addition to addressing deceased registrants, INEC has implemented measures to combat double and multiple registrations through its Automated Biometric Identification System (ABIS). This system successfully flagged and removed approximately 2.78 million invalid registrations, representing about 22.6% of new registrants.
However, concerns persist regarding voter turnout in recent elections. The turnout for the 2023 presidential and National Assembly elections was recorded at 27.5%, a decrease from 35.6% in 2019.
Stakeholders have attributed this decline to various factors, including an inflated voter register, and have proposed potential solutions such as suspending individuals who have not participated in the last three elections until they revalidate their registration.
