The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) says voters assigned to new polling units will receive text messages to know their new polling units before the February 25 and March 11, 2023 general elections.
The electoral commission said voters can locate and confirm their polling units before the general elections by sending regular texts or WhatsApp messages to a dedicated telephone number which will be uploaded on INEC social media platforms.
“Voters can locate and confirm their polling units before election day by sending a regular text or WhatsApp message to a dedicated telephone number,” INEC Chairman, Mahmood Yakubu, said Monday at a meeting with political parties held at the INEC Conference Room, Abuja.
Yakubu also revealed that elections won’t hold in 240 polling units spread across 28 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) because they have no registered voters, adding that the total number of polling units in the country is now 176,606.
“From the feedback we received from our officials and accredited observers following the recent nationwide mock accreditation using the Bimodal Voter Registration Systems (BVAS), it is clear that some voters could not easily identify their polling units,” the INEC chair stated.
“This should not happen on election day. Consequently, the Commission is advising voters to confirm the locations of their polling units through a dedicated portal on our website.
“In addition, all voters who have been assigned to new polling units will receive text messages from the Commission indicating their polling units.”
He said the INEC has compiled the register of such voters and the commission’s state offices will give it wide publicity, especially for those who may not have provided their telephone numbers during voter registration or those whose numbers may have changed.