Over 239,000 residents of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) cast their votes in Saturday’s elections for chairmanship and councillorship positions across the six Area Councils, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has said.
Despite complaints of voter apathy, this figure represents a significant increase from the 148,685 voters recorded in the 2022 elections.
The commission disclosed this in a statement issued on Sunday by Wilfred Ifogah, Acting Director of Voter Education and Publicity.
“While the Commission remains concerned about voter apathy, it notes a significant improvement compared to the previous election. In the 2022 Area Council election, a total of 148,685 voters were recorded, representing 9.4% of registered voters. In the current election, over 239,210 voters voted, representing approximately 15% of the 1,680,315 total registered voters in the FCT,” INEC said.
Speaking further on the exercise, the Commission noted that data from its Election Operations Dashboard showed that only 45% of polling units were open by 8:30 a.m., but all units were operational by 10:00 a.m. Some voters, however, reportedly experienced difficulties locating their designated polling units.
In addressing claims that voters were relocated, the statement clarified that no migrations occurred. Rather, “split polling units” were introduced at large polling locations with more than 1,250 registered voters to prevent congestion. These split units were situated just a few meters away from the original units within the same premises.
INEC further emphasized that voters had been informed of the split units ahead of the election. The voter register had been displayed at designated centres four days before the polls, while affected voters received reminders via text messages and emails on February 18, 19, 20, and 21 to help them confirm their updated polling locations.
As of 2:00 p.m. on Sunday, 93% of polling unit results had been uploaded to the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV), allowing residents and the public to access real-time results from all six Area Councils.
However, INEC attributed the delay in declaring results for Kuje to the challenging terrain of Kabi Ward, which slowed the final collation process.