INEC projected a voter population of about 95 million for the 2023 General Election in the country.
Newsonline reports that the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, on Wednesday, disclosed the voting poulation that would participate in the 2023 general elections in the country.
It said the number of eligible voters that will participate in next years election will be 95 million.
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The INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, said this at an event organized by the National Endowment for Democracy, NED, the International Foundation for Electoral Systems, IFES, and Yiaga Africa at the NED Headquarters, Washington DC.
According to him: “There are 18 political parties in the race to produce the next President to be elected by 95 million voters. We had over 84 million registered voters in 2019. But with the last Continuous Registration of Voters (CVR), we are going to add at least 10 million Nigerians and that will take the Register of Voters to 95 million”.
“It is exactly 136 days to the 2023 general election. It is the seventh successive general election since the restoration of democracy in Nigeria 23 years ago in 1999. This is the longest unbroken period of democracy and democratic elections since independence from British colonial rule 62 years ago in 1960.”
“We have never had this long spell of unbroken period of democracy, democratic governance and elections. The election is significant because the incumbent President is not eligible to run, this being his second and final term.
“There are 18 political parties in the race to produce the next President to be elected by 95m voters. We had over 84m registered voters in 2019. But with last Continuous Registration of Voters (CVR), we are going to add at least 10m Nigerians and that will take the Register of Voters to 95m,” Yakubu said.
He said that by this development, there will be 22m more voters in Nigeria than the whole of West Africa put together.
“Each time Nigerian goes to the polls, it’s like the whole of West Africa voting. And these 95m citizens will vote in 176,846 polling units (PUs),” he said.
He added that beyond the presidential election, governorship elections will also hold in 28 out of the 36 states of the country, while elections are held off season in eight states.
“But there will also be elections for all 109 Senatorial districts in the country, 360 federal constituencies, 993 state constituencies and the Presidential, making a total of 1,491 constituencies for which 18 political parties are sponsoring 12,163 candidates,” Yakubu said.
