The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) indicated this on Wednesday, explaining that to arrive at the new number of PUs, a total of 1,495 voting points (VPs) used for the 2019 general election will be converted to polling units in addition to the existing 2,609 PUs used for the 2019 election.
The INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner in Adamawa State, Kassim Gaidam, in an address said converted voting points would be moved from the vicinities of PUs where they currently exist to places with no PUs
He explained that conversion of VPs and their relocation to new settlements is to enhance booth level voter access with the likelihood of encouraging greater voter turnout in future elections, as envisioned by INEC Chairman, Prof Mahmud Yakubu.
“In Adamawa State, there are 1,495 VPs to be converted to PUs. The objective is to decongest booths with many VPs and address the big challenge of poor turnout or voter apathy during elections by locating such PUs in public buildings nearest to the people who are either unserved or underserved,” the Adamawa INEC resident commissioner said.
He told representatives of interest groups who attended the INEC stakeholders meeting the body was already working to put everything in place.
“Our officers have been in the field locating PUs using maps and GPS coordinates with the view to converting all VPs already known to you into PUs.
“Recall that during the 2019 elections, we had 1,973,083 registered voters spread among 2,609 PUs and 1,495 VPs. With this exercise, the state will have 4,104 full-fledged PUs.”
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