The Independent National Electoral Commission has denied claims that voters were moved to different polling units during Saturday’s Federal Capital Territory Area Council elections, explaining that what occurred was the creation of split polling units to manage large voter populations and reduce congestion.
In a statement signed by its Acting Director of Voter Education and Publicity, Wilfred Ifogah, on Sunday, February 22, the commission addressed two of the biggest talking points from the election, voter confusion over polling unit locations and the low turnout that characterised the exercise.
On the question of voter relocation, INEC was categorical in its denial.
“Contrary to the claim in some quarters that some voters were migrated to another/new polling units different from their original polling units, the Commission wishes to state categorically that voters were not migrated,” the statement read.
The commission explained that it had split large polling units with more than 1,250 registered voters to prevent overcrowding on election day.
“What the Commission did was to create split polling units in large polling units with voters registration of over 1,250 voters to avoid congestion on election day.
“The split units are located some few meters away from the original polling units within the same premises,” it said.
INEC said it had taken multiple steps to inform affected voters about their designated polling units well ahead of the election.
“The public will recall that the Commission displayed the Register of Voters at designated centres/split polling units four days to the Area Council elections to enable voters confirm their details and polling unit locations,” the statement said.
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The commission added that text messages and emails were sent to affected voters on four consecutive days leading up to the polls.
“Text messages/emails were sent to the affected voters on Wednesday 18th, Thursday 19th, Friday 20th and Saturday 21st February 2026 indicating the actual locations of their split polling units, were intended solely as reminders to assist them in identifying their current polling units,” INEC explained.
Despite these efforts, the commission acknowledged that some voters still struggled to locate their polling units on election day.
On the issue of voter apathy, INEC said it remained concerned about low participation but pointed to what it described as a significant improvement over the previous election cycle.
“While the Commission remains concerned about voter apathy, it notes a significant improvement compared to the previous election,” the statement read.
“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,” the commission said.
INEC expressed appreciation to FCT residents for their peaceful conduct and said the level of participation reflected continued trust in the democratic process.
“The participation recorded across the six Area Councils is indicative of citizens’ continued trust in building democracy and the electoral system,” the statement concluded.