Ahead of Friday’s collection of the Permanent Voter Cards in Lagos State, residentson Thursday insisted that the Independent National Electoral Commission must distribute the Permanent Voter Cards in all the 20 Electoral Constituencies of the State as condition for
participation in the electoral process.
In a unanimous agreement at the LTV Blue Roof Multipurpose Hall, venue of a Voters Advocacy Stakeholders’ Forum organized by the State Government, the people also demanded a fair treatment from INEC, threatening to boycott the process if electoral rules were not complied with by the Commission.
They also asked INEC to explain how over 1.4 million names of registered voters in the State disappeared from the voters’ register, bringing the number of registered voters to 4.8 million from 6.5 million, which was declared by the Commission before the 2011 general elections.
The massive audience indicated their stand with overwhelming voice votes and show of the hands during an interactive session after an address by the State Governor, Babatunde Fashola (SAN), on the importance of their participation in the Permanent Voter Cards distribution.
They wondered why INEC should refuse to carry out the exercise in all the 20 electoral constituencies of the state describing it as unfair.
Some residents had earlier raised the issue during the question and answer session after the governor’s address, quoting INEC as saying that it was only ready for distribution of the cards in only 11 electoral constituencies while others quoted the Commission as saying that it was ready for 10 or 9 of the Constituencies.
They also described as strange the fact that INEC, which declared 6.5 million as the number of registered voters in the State in 2011 and used the number for the purpose of conducting elections that year, would turn around and declare the number to be 4.8 million in 2014 adding that the Commission owes the people of Lagos an explanation as
to what happened to over 1.4 million names on the list.
Earlier in his address, Fashola had urged the people to remain vigilant, while assuring them of adequate information on evolving issues as the election processes continue,
pointing out that vigilance was expedient as the collection of Permanent Voter Cards represent the first and most important step in the election processes leading to the choice of those who would eventually lead the people at all levels of government from 2015.
Emphasizing the importance of the exercise, the governor, who listed the election processes to also include issuance of voter identification material, printing and publication of the voters’ register, delineations of the voting centres, actual balloting, collation of results and announcement of results among others, said voter registration remains the most important of the processes because without the voters’ card one could not vote.
“We gather today to prepare to lay the foundation for tomorrow. What that tomorrowwill look like will be a measure of what we do today. Elections have started, make no mistake about it,” the governor said, pointing out that the collection of Permanent Voter Cards signifiesn the beginning of that election process.
Attributing the massive turnout of Lagosians at the forum to the growing political awareness in the state, Governor Fashola, however, expressed regrets that such massive show of enthusiasm has hardly translated into massive turnout during the actual balloting.
According to the governor, from the balloting results collated over the years across the country during general elections, only about 52.3 per cent of registered voters participated in the 1998 presidential election nationwide, while the number rose to 69 per cent in 2003, but dropped to 58 per cent in 2007 and further to 52 per cent in 2011.
In Lagos State, Fashola said voters percentage turnout in presidential and governorship elections were 43 per cent for presidential and 29 per cent for governorship in 1998; 30 per cent for presidential and 30.1 per cent for governorship in 2003; 29.3 per cent for presidential and 28.9 per cent for governorship in 2007; while in 2011, it was 31.8 per cent for presidential and 30.5 per cent for governorship.
The governor, who said the situation was not different at the local government level, pointed out that in 1999, turnout of voters was 9.7 per cent, 10.5 per cent in 2003, 23.3 per cent in 2008 and 12.78 per cent in the 2011 elections, adding that the situation did not reflect the importance of local government administration in governance.
He said: “What it means is that out of the 6.8 million of us that registered, only about 30 percent of us went to vote and that is why I am standing here. That is not an enthusiastic turnout, in my view, about what is most important to us.”
Fashola pointed out that the danger of non-participation in the exercise lay in getting wrong leaders foisted on the people.
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