Dead voters on register – INEC issues fresh order nationwide

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INEC (the Independent National Electoral Commission) has recognized the presence of deceased individuals on the current voters’ register, leading to preparations for a nationwide verification exercise.

This was revealed on Wednesday by the INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, at the Commission’s first quarterly consultative meeting with Civil Society Organisations (CSOs).

Amupitan stated that the review was deemed necessary after an analysis of data from the Anambra State off-cycle governorship election in November showed a stark difference between the number of registered voters and those who actually voted.

“When we look at the voters register for Anambra State during the off cycle elections in November, we discovered that the number of registered voters stood at over 2.9 million, but only about 600 came out to vote.

“This is just about 20 percent of the registered voters. So, we decided to take another look at the register and we discovered names of prominent Nigerian politicians who have died still on the register.”

“That impacts on the integrity of the register and we have to do a clean up because we don’t expect the dead to come from the grave to vote”.

The commission states that the verification process is necessary to clean up the database and restore public trust in the electoral process.

The chairman of INEC stated that the findings have raised significant doubts regarding the reliability of the register currently used for elections nationwide.

He emphasized that credible elections hinge on an accurate and current voters’ register, pointing out that the inclusion of ineligible names erodes trust in the democratic process.

Amupitan revealed that the intended verification exercise would center on eliminating the names of deceased individuals, rectifying data inaccuracies, and collaborating with pertinent government bodies to validate records.

He stated that the clean-up initiative is included in wider efforts by the Commission aimed at enhancing electoral credibility and guaranteeing that only eligible Nigerians are included on the voters’ register.

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