Pre-election: You can now confirm your polling unit via sms- Mahmood Yakubu

Oluwasola Olatunde |Ibadan

In a statement on Friday, Mahmood Yakubu, chairperson of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has said the commission has employed technological innovations, to ensuring that voting is more credible and result management more transparent.

He called the attention of the eligible voters to a fact that they can now confirm the location of their polling units through SMS, ahead of the forthcoming general election.

He said,”the commission noticed that during the mock accreditation exercise, some voters turned up at the wrong polling units.

“Yakubu said other voters may be in the same situation, adding that a reoccurrence must be avoided on election day.

“In order to ease the process, the Commission is sending bulk phone text messages (SMS) to citizens voting in new polling units. Similarly, the register of such voters for each State has been sent to the Resident Electoral Commissioners for publicity, particularly through messages in local languages,” the statement reads.

“Furthermore, the Commission is offering two unique ways by which all voters can locate and confirm their Polling Units before Election Day. This can be done by sending a normal text message or by simply visiting our website. You can also send inquiries to our various public outreach platforms shown in the attached procedure.

“I urge all eligible voters to confirm their voting locations ahead of Election Day. In doing so, you would be contributing to our avowed commitment to deliver credible, inclusive, transparent elections.

In his statement,he disclosed the wherewithal at which voters can confirm their polling unit location,and he said, “the location of voters polling unit can be confirmed by texting the name of his/her state, last name, and the last six digits of voter’s identification number (VIN) to 09062830860 or 09062830861.

Example: FCT MAGAJI 445322.

He added that “Eligible voters can also visit here or here to get the locations of their polling units.”