2023 Election: Allegations of Extortion in CVR Centers by INEC Officials Emerge
- Yiaga Africa calls on the Independent Electoral Commission (INEC) to extend the CVR exercise by three weeks
- It also called for investigation of allegations of bribery and non-deployment of personnel in some Registration Centers
- Commends INEC for deploying additional 209 machines to Kano, Lagos, and five states in the Southeast
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In a build-up to the 2023 general elections, there are allegations of bribery at the ongoing continuous voter registration (CVR) exercise in the six geopolitical zones, Legit.ng understands.
According to a statement made available to Legit.ng on Saturday, June 12 by Yiaga Africa Watching the Vote team, it was gathered that some glitches have been observed during the CVR process.
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The election observation group said its findings were confirmed by the 119 trained and accredited citizen observers deployed across the six geo-political zones of the country.
As contained in the statement, Yiaga Africa confirmed that there have been other challenges encountered during the course of the CVR exercise ranging from inadequate registration devices, capacity deficits on the part of INEC registration officials, and so on.
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Yiaga said:
"The main challenges observed by Yiaga Africa include malfunctioning of the Voter Enrollment Device (IVED), inadequate registration devices, capacity deficits on the part of INEC registration officials, inconsistencies in the decentralization of the CVR in some states, low public awareness of the schedule and locations for the rotational CVR and lastly, extortion and bribery of registration officials."
CVR extension will help INEC handle high volumes of applications - Yiaga Africa
However, the election observation group has called on the independent electoral to extend the CVR exercise by three weeks.
Yiaga Africa said:
"An extension will accord INEC the opportunity to handle the high volumes of applications for application.
"While we note that the CVR extension will require a shift in the schedule, it does not violate, Section 9(6) of the Electoral Act 2022 which states that, “the registration of voters, updating & revision of the voter register shall stop not later than 90 days before any election”.
Yiaga Africa demands probe on alleged extortion at CVR centres
Similarly, the independent electoral body was also urged by the election observation group to investigate the allegations of bribery and extortion of intending registrants.
The group stated stated that extortion of intending registrants by INEC officials before individuals are registered is reprehensible.
Yiaga Africa said:
"INEC should immediately investigate the allegations of the payment of N1,000 for voter registration in some locations, especially in Kaura Namoda LGA in Zamfara state."
Meanwhile the election observation group lauded INEC for its responsiveness to citizens demands by deploying additional enrollment devices to manage the high turnout of intending registrants in some states like Lagos, Kano and the five states in the South east.
Source: Legit.ng
