2019 elections: INEC to allow prison inmates to vote

macfranc007 October 25, 2017 Nigeria News today & Breaking news ▷ Read Nigerian newspapers 24/7 Oluwatobi Bolashodun

- The Independent National Electoral Commission, (INEC) has announced plans to ensure prisoners can vote in the 2019 general elections

- The INEC chairman, Mahmood Yakubu explained that only ”certain categories of prisoners” would be allowed to vote

Ahead of the forthcoming 2019 general elections the Independent National Electoral Commission, (INEC) said it is making plans with the Nigeria Prisons Service to ensure prisoners can vote.

NAIJ.com gathered that the INEC chairman, Mahmood Yakubu, on Tuesday, October 24, said this in Abuja at a dialogue session tagged Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room Dialogue.

This is coming three years after a Federal High Court in Benin, Edo Ssate, ruled that prisoners in Nigeria have the right to vote in all elections conducted in the country.

The INEC chairman explained that only ”certain categories of prisoners” would be given such an opportunity depending on the nature of the crimes committed.

“We have already engaged the Comptroller-General of Prisons and we have statistics on the number of prisoners nationwide and the number of inmates registered.”

“We are looking at the possibility of creating polling units in the prisons and to enable some categories of prisoners to vote.

“Ghana does it but there are some categories of prisoners who by the nature of crimes committed lose the right to vote. Whatever we can do to open up the process to ensure that as much as possible Nigerians are given the opportunity to vote, will be done.”

If the plan comes to fruition, Nigeria will join other countries like France, Norway, Canada, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Ghana, Israel, Japan, Kenya, Netherlands, Norway, Peru, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Sweden, Zimbabwe amongst others where prison inmates are allowed to vote.

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NAIJ.com previously reported that INEC projected that the registered voters in the country might increase by about 10 million to over 80 million by 2019.

The chairman of INEC, Mahmood Yakubu, made the prediction at a roundtable organised by the European Union Electoral Follow-up Mission to Nigeria and West Africa, held in Abuja, NAN reports.

A statement issued by the chief press secretary to INEC chairman, Rotimi Oyekanmi, on Sunday, October 22, in Abuja, noted that the round-table was also attended by Civil Society Organisations and other stakeholders.

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