The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Voters Education and Publicity, deputy director, Mr Stephen Ojewande, Tuesday said internal democracy among political parties would increased voters’ education and participation.
Ojewande stated this during a review and Refresher Workshop for Training of Trainers on Voter Education organised by Westminster Foundation for Democracy (WFD) in Abuja.
He said poor turnout of voters cannot be attributed to inefficient voter’s education, saying that the commission had intense voters education activities carried out in collaboration with other stakeholders.
According to him, a major factor responsible for voter apathy is the political class, adding that they need to get their games right in terms of internal democracy and also involve themselves in voters education.
“By the time you have a favourable environment, you don’t need to force voters to come out, as they will be willing to do so,” Ojewande said.
He said there was the need to maintain adequate security to assure voters of their safety.
Ojewande said there was no legal framework that allows for electronic voting yet, adding that the Electoral Act does not permit the electronic compilation of results.
The Head of Department, Community Development Services and Social Projects, Osun secretariat, Mr Kayode Peters, said the impact of voters education and use of the corps members cannot be over emphasised, adding that they are spread across communities in the country.
Peters said the collaboration with the NGO would further impact positively on the nation’s democracy.
The Country Representative, Westminster Foundation for Democracy, Mr Adebowale Olorunmola, said the purpose of the workshop was to bring INEC officials and corps members together in reorientating them on civic and voters’ education as well as share experiences and learn lessons from the past elections.
