The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has announced the removal of 7,746 deceased voters from the national voter register across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) as of December 2022.
Victoria Etta-Messi, INEC’s Director of Voter Education and Publicity, disclosed this during an interview on Thursday.
“Seven thousand, seven hundred and forty-six deceased persons across the 36 states and the FCT were removed from the National Register of Voters as of December 2022,” she confirmed.
Challenges in Maintaining Accurate Registers
INEC highlighted the complexities involved in maintaining a clean and up-to-date voter register during its 2023 post-general election review. While the voter registration process saw the addition of 12,298,944 new registrants, the commission identified persistent issues in removing deceased persons due to gaps in official death records.
“Problems with official death records continue to make it very difficult for INEC to remove deceased registrants,” the commission noted.
Another significant issue was double or multiple registrations. Through the Automated Biometric Identification System (ABIS), INEC flagged and removed 2,780,756 cases of invalid registrations, representing 22.6% of new registrants nationwide.
Declining Voter Turnout Sparks Concerns
INEC also reported a declining trend in voter turnout, with the 2023 presidential and National Assembly elections recording just 27.5%, a drop from 35.6% in 2019. Stakeholders attributed this partly to an inflated voter register and called for a more rigorous cleanup.
“An inflated voter register undermines public confidence and contributes to low voter turnout,” a stakeholder noted during the review.
Proposed Solutions and Recommendations
To address these challenges, stakeholders recommended enhanced collaboration with agencies like the National Population Commission (NPC) and the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) to identify deceased persons and ensure their removal from the register.
Additionally, there were suggestions to suspend individuals who have not voted in the past three elections and require them to revalidate their registration.
“One suggestion from this review was to strengthen collaboration with other agencies such as NIMC and NPC to identify deceased persons in the register and remove them. In addition, the commission could suspend individuals who have not voted in the past three elections from the register and request them to revalidate their registration,” the report stated.
Looking Ahead
Despite the challenges, INEC remains committed to improving the credibility of Nigeria’s electoral process. The commission reiterated its focus on leveraging technology and inter-agency collaboration to maintain an accurate voter register, a critical foundation for credible elections.
Stakeholders expressed optimism that these reforms, if implemented, would enhance voter confidence and participation in future elections.
