2015 Polls: 88% Of Registered Nigerians Eager To Vote, Says NOIPoll

AS the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, is making preparations towards the conduct of next year‘s general elections, 88 per cent of adult registered voters have expressed eagerness to cast their votes during the elections. A reputable independent firm, NOIPolls Limited, which revealed this in its public opinion poll entitled, ‘Countdown to the 2015 Election Poll’ conducted on 17 February 2014, indicated that vast majority of 92 per cent of the 25 per cent yet to register, are planning to register in time for the 2015 elections. It added that majority of 88 per cent of registered voters eagerly looking forward to voting in the 2015 elections, cited the need ‘to exercise their right to vote as Nigerians’ 40 per cent and ‘to vote for the right/good leader’ 31 per cent as the top reasons.

It noted that, “on the other hand, of the 12 per cent of registered voters who do not look forward to voting, the most cited reasons include the suspicion that “their vote will not count,” 36 per cent; they “don’t have the time,”  22 per cent; and they “don’t trust the elections,” 21 per cent. It would be recalled that in January 2014, Mrs. Augusta Ogakwu, the Secretary of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, announced that the presidential and National Assembly elections will hold on February 14, 2015, while the state assembly and governorship elections are scheduled for February 28, 2015.

Mixed reactions have trailed the election timetable. While some Nigerians applauded INEC for the timely release of the schedule for the elections,  others have questioned the decision to hold the presidential and National Assembly polls before the governorship and state assembly elections. They argued that holding the presidential poll first would have a bandwagon effect on the subsequent elections.

As Nigeria prepares towards the 2015 polls, INEC Chairman, Attahiru Jega has painted an optimistic picture of the 2015 elections, saying the lessons of the 2011 elections had been learnt and new processes are now in place to make the coming elections “much better than anything in the past.” According to NOIPOll, “further analysis by geo political zones, indicates that the South East zone 83 percent has the highest proportion of registered voters, while the North West zone and the South South zone, both 28 percent have the highest proportion of those that are not yet registered. In addition, the age group that has the highest percentage 89 percent of registered voter is 46 60 years. 

Culled from Vanguard Newspaper