Abuja, Nigeria. February 12th, 2019 – Specifically in 4 days’ time, over 84 million eligible voters in Nigerians will head to the 119,973 polling units spread across all the six geo-political zones in the country to vote for their preferred presidential and National Assembly candidates respectively. It is therefore the responsibility of INEC and other stakeholders like; the judiciary, the Nigerian police and all security agencies, foreign election observers and commissions and the media etc. to ensure that no Nigerian is disenfranchised and that the election is free, fair, transparent and a template for all upcoming elections, not only in Nigeria but in Africa.
As the February 16th 2019 general elections is only a few days away, NOIPolls presents findings from its past poll on countdown to election poll which was conducted in 2014 during the build-up to the 2015 general elections. Findings from the poll are considered to be highly relevant to the 2019 elections. The poll highlighted the views of Nigerians regarding the single most important procedure that should be put in place to ensure a free and fair election. Findings from the poll revealed that a larger proportion of Nigerians (26 percent) stated that INEC should do the right thing without bias; this was closely followed by 22 percent who suggested that adequate security should be put in place. Furthermore, while 14 percent proposed that INEC should be absolutely independent, 8 percent advocated for adequate provision of electoral materials across all the polling units in the country amongst other mentions.
The active participation of all stakeholders in the process to ensure a free and fair election remains one of the most critical issues in the entire election process. In line with this, some INEC Electoral Commissioners have assured Nigerians that necessary mechanisms are being put in place to ensure a free and fair election. Furthermore, with the recent release of the elections timetable, Professor Mahmood Yakubu pointed out that INEC is mindful of its own operational effectiveness and best practices towards ensuring a free and fair election.
Analysis on geo-political zones revealed that the North-West zone (37 percent) accounted for the largest proportion of Nigerians who said that INEC should do the right thing without bias, while the South-South zone (25 percent) has the highest share of respondents who suggested that adequate security should be put in place. Also, the South-East zone (21 percent) has the highest proportion of respondents that said “INEC should be absolutely independent”.
In conclusion, with the 2019 general election commencing in 3 days, it is advised that INEC consolidates the successes recorded in the 2015 general elections with the introduction of new innovations such as the Electronic Voter Register (EVR) and Electronic Voter Authentication (EVA). The 2019 general elections will be the sixth since 1999, when Nigeria returned to civilian rule. If well administered in terms of fulfilling the most basic democratic requirements of elections, the election will further strengthen Nigeria’s prospects for democratic rule and national development. Finally, within the remaining 3 days, INEC should in conjunction with the National Orientation Agency (NOA), the Media, Non-governmental Organizations (NGOs) and Community Associations improve on voter education with particular focus on vote casting to reduce the number of rejected ballots that may occur.
Disclaimer
This press release has been produced by NOIPolls Limited to provide information on all issues which form the subject matter of the document. Kindly note that while we are willing to share results from our polls with the general public, we only request that NOIPolls be acknowledged as author whenever and wherever our poll results are used, cited or published.
NOIPolls hereby certifies that all the views expressed in this document accurately reflect its views of respondents surveyed for the poll, and background information is based on information from various sources that it believes are reliable; however, no representation is made that it is accurate or complete. Whilst reasonable care has been taken in preparing this document, no responsibility or liability is accepted for errors or fact or for any views expressed herein by NOIPolls for actions taken as a result of information provided in this report. Any ratings, forecasts, estimates, opinions or views herein constitute a judgment as at the date of this document. If the date of this document is not current, the views and content may not reflect NOIPolls’ current findings and/or thinking.
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