By Ada Bosa
Newly registered All progressive Congress has advised Anambra State voters to take the INEC voter validation and registration exercise taking place in their polling booths across 326 wards of the state between August 19 and August 26, 2013 very seriously and avoid double registration as ‘such could make them not only be struck out of the register and lose the power to vote for their chosen candidates, but could also make them not be able to vote for themselves or have other vote for them in future’
Chieftain of APC and Anambra State Publicity Secretary of de-registered ACN, Arc. Okelo Madukaife who issued the enlightenment on behalf of Anambra APC reminded APC’s overwhelming supporters that ‘ex-convicts do not hold public offices in Nigeria, by the existing laws’, urging all to ‘avoid prosecuted and or convicted for double registration, or related offences ‘during the eight-day exercise.
APC is a new mega party formed by the fusion of ACN, ANPP, CPC, DPP and APGA
The full release made for the party which requests voters to seek the assistance of any office of the merger parties in APC if any INEC official is found wanting, is as follows:
Are you resident in Anambra State? Do you plan to have the power to decide on November 16, 2013, who becomes governor of the State from March 17, 2014? Your power lies in your ability to go from tomorrow morning till the following Monday to your polling booth for old voters and your chosen booth for new members to confirm your name or register afresh.
For old voters- those who voted in 2011 National Assembly elections- the voter register for your booth has been pasted in the polling area complete with all the names and the photographs. You are to carefully go through it and identify your name, your friend, associate, loved ones and anyone connected to you in the booth.
If you voted before in that booth, but your name does not appear. You are to promptly report the matter to the INEC officer there. Please do not decide on your own to register again simply because you did not see your name on the least. It could be an error of omission. If you do this, and your name is still captured in the database elsewhere, you are already guilty of double registration which is a criminal offence. Hence, in addition to striking out your name from the entire register, you will be prosecuted, like INEC is now doing to those who committed the offence in 2011.
This means that you will not vote and you may end up being an ex-convict. Remember by subsisting Nigerian laws, ex-convicts cannot hold public offices. So you have not just lost the power to vote for your candidate, you have lost the chance to vote for yourself or for anyone to vote for you in future, if you offer yourself for elective position
If on the other hand you have been living in say Kaduna, where you voted in 2011, but now you are living in one part of Anambra State for one reason of another, you have the right to write a letter to INEC in your local government, attaching a copy of your voter’s card seeking the transfer of your name to the desired booth/card.
On receipt of your letter, INEC may require you to attend and interview or to furnish further documents. You need to co-operate, rather than feel stressed and attempt to register again.
However, you have to exercise this right not less than 30 days to the election in which you wish to vote.
New registrants are to insist are advised to insist that your data is entered correctly which means that you have read it yourself and accepted. If you are not literate, you need to enlist the assistance of a friend, relative of associate.
The INEC officials are equally duty-bound to assist you, but the essence of having your own person is to act as a check on the INEC officials against corruption.
Upon registration you are advised not to part with your card or give it to anybody or keep it outside your sight. Not even INEC officials are permitted to keep your card for you once issued.
Under no circumstance should you accept to sign or thumbprint for anybody. Every person should thumbprint for himself or herself. INEC will assist those without limbs who desire to vote in accordance with the manuals for registrations, guidelines and subsisting Electoral Act.
When assisting a blind person in the course of registration, please ensure that your own had does not make any contact with the machine or the cards.
Please report any suspicious activity by anybody in the registration centre to the Police or to INEC the offices in your locality.
Where the suspicion is on INEC and its officials please report the matter to any office of ACN, ANPP, CPC and DPP which have fused into APC a group in APGA in your locality with all possible details. Please note that APC is still in the process of commissioning central offices in the localities of Anambra State after the merger and carefully avoid being duped.
We advise potential registrants to consider this inherent right to vote, a priority and to approach any of the above names offices for further advice.
We assure you of APC’s commitment to assisting all organs charged with responsibilities in the voter register update to arrive at a reliable voter register, mindful that it was the basis for rigging 2010 governorship elections in the state.
We wish you best of luck in the field.
