Anambra elections: Group deploys 75 observers to monitor voters registration

With Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) decentralizing the continuous voters registration to ward registration centres in Anambra State, the Youth Initiative for Advocacy, Growth & Advancement (YIAGA) says it is deploying 75 accredited citizen observers to rotationally observe at least 225 wards out of the 326 CVR ward centres across Anambra State in the ongoing voter registration exercise.

The Youth Initiative for Advocacy, Growth & Advancement (YIAGA) is a civic hub dedicated to the promotion of democracy, accountability and citizens’ participation.

During the exercise that will last between August 10 and 15, Executive Director of the group, Samson Itodo said in a statement issued in Abuja that the non-governmental organisation will deploy its Watching the Vote (WTV) election observation methodology during exercise.

“The CVR will be conducted in the 326 wards in Anambra state in preparation for the November elections in the State. The exercise is designed to update the voter register with the registration of citizens who turned 18 after the last voter registration exercise; or those who couldn’t register in previous CVR exercises.”

“Uncollected Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) will be distributed during the exercise, as well issues relating to transfer of registered voters, lost or omitted PVCs will be addressed during the exercise. More so, INEC will be introducing the new Direct Data Capturing (DDC) Machine for the decentralized Anambra CVR.”

According to Itodo, objectives of the observation include; to assess the process of the CVR, to verify the functionality of the new DDC machine and to enhance the compliance of INEC to electoral guidelines.

“YIAGA’s #WatchingTheVote is an advanced observation methodology that uses well-established statistical principles and sophisticated information technology for reporting and assessment of electoral activities.”

“Using this methodology, YIAGA will provide the timeliest and accurate information on the conduct of the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR), Permanent Voter Card (PVC) distribution and Transfer of Registered Voters.”

“Observers will also report on any critical incident they witness or are reported to them.”

The statement added that WTV observers will send in their observation reports via coded text message using their mobile phones. The reports will be received directly into a sophisticated database located at the YIAGA’s WTV Data Centre in Abuja for review, verification and analysis.

YIAGA-WTV will issue interim report on the process based on reports from its observers, this will be shared with the public, Independent National Electoral Commission, (INEC), political parties, civic society organizations and other stakeholders.