The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) said the two key factors that will shape next year’s general election are insecurity and the neutrality of security agencies.
The election umpire is worried that most Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), may be disenfranchised unless threats are neutralised.
Terrorism and banditry have ejectedmany people in the Northeast, Northwest and Northcentral.
The United States Ambassador to Nigeria, Mary Beth Leonard, said the attention of the world will be on Nigeria ahead of and during the polls.
INEC National Commissioner and Chairman Information and Voter Education Committee, Festus Okoye and Leonard spoke at a town hall meeting hosted by the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE).
It was organised with support from U.S. Embassy in Nigeria, with the theme: “Agenda setting for sustainable democratic culture.”
Okoye believes that despite the new Electoral Act, next year’s elections will be faced with challenges.
On how insecurity will affect the polls, he said: “So many of the IDPs are in the houses of friends and relatives and have lost their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs).
“It is next to an impossibility to recreate their constituencies and polling units.
“Growing insecurity in several parts of the country and the increasing number of IDPs will pose challenges.
“This is because Section 47(1) of the Electoral Act provides that a person intending to vote in an election shall present himself with his voter card to a presiding officer for accreditation at the polling unit in the constituency in which his name is registered.
“Some of these persons are no longer in their constituencies and can no longer access their polling units and so many of them have lost their PVCs.
“While it is easy to recreate constituencies and polling units in clustered IDP camps, it is next to impossible to do so for persons staying in scattered locations.”
