The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) said on Monday that the forthcoming continuous voter registration would last only 15 days because of logistics and financial constraints
The Resident Electoral Commissioner in Abia, Prof. Jacob Jato, announced the measure during a stakeholders forum on continuous voter registration organised for Abia South Senatorial Zone in Aba.
Jato said that five days would be used for the exercise in each of the three senatorial zones of the state.
He said those eligible to register included those with incomplete data, those who could not see their names on the register and those who recently attained the age of registration.
“We need this forum to discuss how to make elections in Abia State in 2015 successful.
“We cannot give the people a successful free and fair election without the people’s cooperation,” he said.
The commissioner said that everyone that had reached the voting age had the right to vote and should use the opportunity to register.
Jato announced that INEC had selected registration area centres in polling units where the exercise would take place.
He said the commencement date of the exercise had been shifted to early 2014 to ensure that the machines for the exercise did not pose problems as experienced in 2010
The former Abia Deputy Governor, Mr Acho Nwakamma, commended INEC for organising the forum.
Nwakamma said the commission was on the right path to a credible election in 2015 in Abia and expressed the hope that the elections would be free and fair.
The Chairman of Labour Party in the state, Mr Obasi Agbai, urged the body to invite the media, especially the television stations in Aba in the next edition of the forum to disseminate the information. (NAN)
