INEC says it has enhanced voters’ access to polling units by establishing 56,872 new polling units.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has tasked voters wishing to locate or confirm their polling units for the 2023 general election, to do so by sending SMS to any of its dedicated lines.

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Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, the Chairman, INEC, said this in a message to Nigerians on Friday in Abuja.

Yakubu said that the voters should text their voting states, last name and the last six digits of their Voter Identification Number (VIN) to any of the lines– 09062830860, 09062830861, for example FCT Magaji 445322.

He said that INEC had introduced a number of innovations facilitated by technology to make voting more credible and transparent in the 2023 general election.

Yakubu said that INEC had also enhanced voters access to polling units by establishing 56,872 new polling units to give Nigerians a more pleasant experience on election day.

“As I have said repeatedly, the right to vote can only be exercised where there is a place to vote.

“Arising from the recent mock accreditation exercise nationwide using the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS), some voters turned up at the wrong polling units.

“This happened both in cases where voters have been migrated to other polling units by the commission and even where they voluntarily chose new voting locations during the last Continuous Voter Registration (CVR).

“We believe that there could other voters in the same situation. This challenge must be addressed so that it does not happen on election day,” he said.

Yakubu added that in order to ease the process, the commission was sending bulk phone text messages (SMS) to Nigerians voting in new polling units.

He said that similarly, the register of such voters for each state had been sent to the Resident Electoral Commissioners (REC) for publicity, particularly through messages in local languages.

“Furthermore, the commission is offering two unique ways by which all voters can locate and confirm their polling units before election day.

“This can be done by sending a normal text message or by simply visiting our website.

“The detailed procedure is attached to this message and also uploaded to our website and social media platforms,” he said.

Yakubu said that registered voters could also send inquiries to INEC public outreach platforms shown in the attached procedure.

He urged all eligible voters to confirm their voting locations, ahead of election day.

“In doing so, you would be contributing to our avowed commitment to deliver credible, inclusive, transparent elections,” Yakubu said.