INEC To Spend N305 Billion On 2023 General Election

N239 billion for poll materials, runoff 

The Independent National Electoral Commission has rolled out plans for the expenditures for the 2023 general election.

According to the commission’s 2023 General Election Project Plan that was unfolded on Thursday, an average of N239.2bn will be used to purchase voting materials and vehicles that will be used during the election.

INEC, in Abuja, explained that 78.44 per cent of its total budget of N305bn would cater for 10 crucial needs which are ballot papers, operational vehicles, ballot boxes, allowances of ad hoc workers, the printing of result sheets, logistics and procurement of accreditation devices.

The commission also set aside N27.1bn for possible run-off elections which also reflected in the N239.2bn.

Run-off elections are conducted if there is no clear winner in a general poll.

According to the plan of the commission, the highest single component is the purchase of accreditation machines which will be bought at N105.2bn while the allowance for ad hoc workers who are expected to exceed one million people will be N23.7bn.

Election logistics will take N23bn while INEC will also spend N20.6bn on the printing of ballot papers and N12.7bn on the procurement of non-sensitive materials. The commission set aside N9.5bn for the printing of result sheets, N7.8bn for the procurement of ballot boxes and a separate N5.39bn for the same purpose. The electoral body will also spend N3.9bn for the procurement of operational vehicles.

READ ALSO: APC 100m Forms: Joe Igbokwe Blasts Youths For Complaining

Recall that the previous general election was wrapped up for N189bn owing to the fact that the country which had 84 million registered voters and 199, 973 polling units in 2019 is expected to have about 100 million voters and 176, 846 polling units in the coming election.

Meanwhile, the commission on Thursday said that no amount of security challenges would stop the conduct of the 2023 general election.

The Chairman of INEC, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, stated this during the public presentation of the 2022-2026 strategic plan and the 2023 Election Project Plan in Abuja.

Recall that Elder statesman, Chief Afe Babalola (SAN), recently urged the country to jettison the idea of election in 2023, calling for an interim national government that would later birth a new constitution to guide the elections.

Others had also expressed fears over the security situation in the North-West and the South-East which could scuttle the elections.

However, the INEC chairman said no amount of security challenges would stop the conduct of the 2023 general election.

The commission also said that about one million electoral officials, both regular and ad hoc staff, would be deployed to 176,846 polling units in 8,809 Wards and 774 Local Government Areas in the country.

He said, “As you may be aware, the election will be conducted for 1,491 constituencies nationwide made up of one presidential constituency, 109 senatorial districts, 360 federal constituencies, 28 governorship elections and 993 state constituencies.

“The election will involve an estimated one million electoral officials (both permanent and temporary or ad hoc staff) deployed to 176,846 polling units in 8,809 Wards and 774 Local Government Areas across the country. The election will be governed by a new Electoral Act 2022, which contains many progressive provisions that will enhance the capacity of the commission to conduct elections and manage the electoral process better.

“We have carefully listened to the demand of Nigerians for seamless processes, particularly with regard to enhanced voter education, better distribution of voters to polling units, quality training of election personnel, the functionality of electronic devices, improved logistics, prompt commencement of polls, and availability of assistive devices for persons with disability at polling units and greater transparency in result management.”

Yakubu said the commission was aware of the security challenges and their impact on the electoral process, noting that it would continue to engage early and intensely with the security agencies to ensure the safety of our personnel and materials, accredited observers and the media and, above all, the voters.

“Clearly, these are challenging times but we are determined that elections must hold in 2023. However, this is a shared responsibility. INEC plays a critical role but the commission alone cannot deliver the elections we all desire. I, therefore, appeal to all Nigerians to join hands with us in ensuring that we make a success of the process”, he said.

Clarifying the issue of runoff raised, the Niger State Resident Electoral Commissioner, Prof Sam Egwu said the commission always prepares for runoff because the first presidential ballot may not produce a winner, Punch reports.

He said, “In every election, INEC prepares for a run-off and it will not be different for 2023. It’s because for presidential and governorship (elections), it’s possible to win majority votes without meeting geographical spread.

“It is possible not to produce a winner in the first ballot because, aside from your majority votes, you have to get 25 per cent in at least two-thirds of the local governments for governorship and two-thirds of the states for the presidential.

“So, potentially, in every election, you can have a run-off; so, there’s always a preparation in case there is a run-off. Before, the law said you had to do the run-off within seven days. But the amendment to the constitution in 2010 now makes it 21 days.”

Also speaking in the same vein as Egwu, the INEC National Electoral Commissioner for information and Voter Education, Festus Okoye, explained, “The framers of the Nigerian Constitution envisage a President with a national mandate. Based on this supposition, a President must be elected by a majority of the Nigerian people and the President must also enjoy a sizable geographical spread.

“Premised on this, a candidate for an election to the office of the President shall be deemed to have been elected where there being more than two candidates for the election he has the highest number of votes cast at the election; and he has not less than one-quarter of the votes cast at the election in each of at least two-thirds of all the states in the Federation and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.

“In default, there shall be a second election (which in popular parlance is called a run-off), which shall be conducted within twenty-one days of the result of the election. The conditions for the second election are adumbrated in Section 134 of the Constitution.

“The commission plans for the main election and the second election. The Commission cannot begin fresh planning for a second election when the announcement of results and reverse logistics for the main election will take almost two weeks. The commission has always prepared for the second election with the main election since the return to civil democratic rule. No national commissioner has the ability to predict the future or the outcome of any election. This commission will continue to plan and plan well and plan strategically.”