Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project, SERAP, has urged the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Professor Mahmood Yakubu, to extend the deadline for voter registration to give more time for eligible Nigerians to exercise their right to participate in the same way the electoral body has extended the deadline for party primaries.
In the letter dated May 28, 2022, by SERAP Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare, the organisation said Voters are also critical stakeholders in the electoral process adding that treating all eligible Nigerian voters fairly would advance the people’s right to vote and to participate in their own government.
According to SERAP, extending the voter registration deadline would provide more time for eligible voters, including young people, the elderly, people living with disability, as well as those residents in states facing security challenges and living in IDP camps to participate in the 2023 general elections.
Against its earlier stance, the INEC last week suddenly extended the deadline for the conduct of primaries by political parties by six days, from June 3 to June 9.
(VANGUARD)