INEC creates 924 additional polling units in Ondo

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Ondo State says it has created additional 924 polling units across the 18 Local Government Areas of the state ahead of the 2023 general elections.

The State Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Dr Rufus Akeju, said this in Akure at a stakeholder’s meeting for the implementation of the expansion of voter access to Polling Units (PUs) in Nigeria.

According to Akeju, the additional 924 polling units will increase the number of polling units in the state to 3,933.

The REC explained that the commission arrived at the figure by converting existing voting points that met the minimum threshold of 750 or a maximum of 1,000 voters per polling unit.

According to him, the commission has received numerous letters from voters complaining of being disenfranchised due to the far distance of the polling units to their locations.

Akeju also noted that the decline in voter turnout in the last four electoral cycles could be because voters had to trek long distances to access their polling units.

“The results from the field works are currently undergoing verification and the new polling units in their locations will be reflected in the forthcoming Continuous Voter Registration exercise.

“We have been receiving letters for the past 25 years over inadequacies of polling units. People trek long distances and some are afraid of likely electoral violence,” he said.

The REC said with the latest development, the increased polling units would be available for the 1,822,346 voting population of the state.