Thousands of people displaced by the Boko Haram insurgency will be shut out of the election that will take place on Saturday in Nigeria.
Electoral officials say only those living in selected camps will be allowed to vote
CCTV’s Robert Nagila is in Kano state and he says regardless of the security challenge, preparations are well underway.
Ballot papers are due in Kano from Thursday. The deadline for people to collect their voting cards has been extended – this time, til Wednesday.
Security is still a big worry in Nigeria as voters eagerly await the ballot.
Kano has been a frequent target for Islamist group Boko Haram. It’s vowed to disrupt voting on Saturday.
Boko Haram already has effectively halted the election for many Nigerians in the north-east.
Forced from their homes by the violence, many live in makeshift camps, many across the border.
The electoral commission says there’s no time to include them in the vote.
Mikalila Abdullahi an official of the Independent National Electoral Commission in Kano says, a technical committee was set up and it involved key stake holders including representatives of the three states under state of emergency that is Borneo, adamawa and Yobe.
He adds that in view of time constraints and resources the commission was only able to design the modality for implementation within the three states only.
The army has retaken territory from Boko Haram in the past six weeks. But it’s conceded, many of the towns it’s recaptured are in no position to hold a vote on Saturday.The electoral commission says it has to work with what’s possible.
Mikaila says it’s not easy for the commission because they do not have specific camps where this people are being taken care off, they are scattered within communities and some households.
For that reason there was no provision to cater for those IDPs especially as it affects the conduct of the election”
The commission doesn’t know how many people will be denied their vote, but by some estimates the violence has displaced at least 1.5 million Nigerians.
