INEC Sees Massive Youth Voter Pre-Registration Ahead of Elections
Nigeria’s Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is witnessing a surge in youth participation in the ongoing online pre-registration phase for the Continuous Voters Registration (CVR). A remarkable 4.2 million young Nigerians have already pre-registered online, constituting 68% of all registrations. This significant engagement suggests that the country’s youth are poised to play a pivotal role in shaping the upcoming elections. However, this enthusiasm is tempered by lingering concerns about INEC’s trustworthiness.
# Doubts Persist Despite High Registration Numbers
While the high pre-registration numbers are encouraging, skepticism remains due to perceived shortcomings in past elections. The 2023 general elections, despite experiencing increased youth involvement, were plagued by irregularities that cast a shadow on the process. Despite the deployment of expensive electoral technologies, including the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV), technical malfunctions and glitches significantly impacted the credibility of the election results, raising questions about the true integrity of the electoral process.
Despite lingering concerns about INEC’s operational integrity, the surge in youth voter pre-registration highlights the potential for increased civic engagement in future elections. Whether this enthusiasm translates into actual votes and ultimately strengthens Nigeria’s democracy remains to be seen.
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