The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) said no fewer than 80 million registered Nigerians were expected to vote during the 2019 general elections in the country.
INEC chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, who disclosed while presenting a paper at the 14th All Nigeria Editors Conference (ANEC) in Asaba, Delta capital, said that the figure was made up of 67 million existing registered voters and 14 million fresh registrants.
Represented by Mike Igini, Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Akwa Ibom, Yakubu said already 91 political parties had been registered for the 2019 elections, adding that there was a total of 120,000 polling units across the country.
Also, the chairman said the commission had so far conducted about 190 elections that had not been upturned by any law court despite having insignificant staff strength of 16,000 staff across the nation.
The INEC chairman appealed to politicians to shun “vote-buying” which he said the commission was currently working hard to curb and urged Nigerians to take ownership of the election process by participating actively in it.
“Vote-buying is bad and if we don’t deal with the problem of votebuying, it will destroy the electoral process,” he said.
He urged the media to remain fair and balance in its reportage adding that the gathering of editors provided INEC an opportunity to update those who determined the content of news for the Nigerian people on the extent of its preparations for the elections.
He noted that credible elections underscored the idea of election integrity and the notion of inclusiveness, transparency and accountability.
According to him, it requires that the Election Management Bodies (EMBs) who manage elections should live above board.
