Nigeria’s electoral commission is scrambling to find ways that will allow approximately 1 million people displaced by Boko Haram-related violence to vote in the February elections. The independent commission says voters displaced by fighting in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states can pick up their voter cards at designated centers and refugee camps, many of them located in the state capitals. Those locations are also where displaced voters will be able to cast their ballots. That means tens of thousands of displaced Nigerians who have fled farther south must make their way back.
To get his voter card, Bouba Musa traveled this week from Bauchi northeast to Maiduguri, a distance of roughly 470 kilometers or 202 miles. He is from Gwoza, a Borno state district that fell to Boko Haram militants in August. Gwoza in Borno state, NigeriaGwoza in Borno state, Nigeria
Musa got his own card but was unable to find his wife’s, he said. “And other people, they are still here. They did not get anything concerning that voter card.” Now, Musa either must stay in Maiduguri or return next month from Bauchi if he wants to vote.
Currently, the presidential and National Assembly elections are scheduled for February 14, followed by governor and state assembly votes on February 28.
Full Article: Nigeria’s 1 Million Displaced Voters Pose Challenge.