VOTER REGISTRATION IN ENUGU

C O N F I D E N T I A L ABUJA 003153

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/21/2016
TAGS: PGOV KDEM PHUM NI ELECTIONS
SUBJECT: VOTER REGISTRATION IN ENUGU


Classified By: Political Counselor Russell J. Hanks for Reasons 1.4 (b
and d)


1. (C) Summary: Poloff and Pol assistant traveled to Enugu
state in mid-November and met with INEC, the PDP,
journalists, and civil society activists to discuss voter
registration and the pre-election climate. Voter
registration in Enugu was off to a slow start with only 52 of
750 required direct data capture machines operating in the
state. Poloffs visited registration sites where machines
were functioning well. However, few voters turned out and
there was no publicity about where to register. All of our
contacts, including the INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner
(REC),predicted that the registration period would be
extended beyond December 14. End Summary.


2. (U) Dr. Abdu Bulama, INEC's Resident Electoral
Commissioner (REC) for Enugu told Poloff that voter
registration was off to a slow start due to lack of the
necessary direct data capture (DDC) machines. He reported
that Enugu initially received only 12 machines for its 17
Local Government Areas (LGAs) and 2,959 polling places. By
mid-November, Enugu's allotment of machines increased to 52,
but this still fell far short of the 750 machines promised to
the state. Bulama indicated that there were initially some
problems with the software and that the battery life of the
machines was only about 4 to 5 hours, rather than the 8 hours
touted by headquarters. However, he was pleased that most
polling stations were able to enroll around 100 voters per
day per machine. Bulama was hopeful that INEC would be given
an extension to continue the registration exercise after
December 14. Journalists, civil society activists, and the
state PDP secretary all expressed similar expectations.


3. (U) Bulama invited Poloff to observe registration at
several sites in Enugu. The sites were outdoors, located in
schoolyards or parks. There were two ad hoc staff working at
each site, and at one registration point there were two
police on hand, presumably to provide security. The staff
knew how to operate the DDC equipment and we witnessed voters
registering and receiving their temporary voters' cards.
Since most Nigerian do not posses any reputable form of
identification, at the registration center, a voter simply
tells the worker his name, age, and address. The worker
enters this data into the computer and then captures the
voter's fingerprint and photo and prints a temporary
registration card. This presents a potential problem, as
there is no way to prevent non-citizens or underage citizens
from entering the voters roll. Another problem was lack of
publicity. There were no signs on the street indicating that
registration was taking place at the sites we visited. The
pace of activity at all observed sites was low. One site had
registered 30 voters in 5 hours, while another site
registered 12 people before its printer ran out of ink.


4. (C) There were some indications of politicization in the
location of registration machines. Pol assistant overheard
the REC (speaking in Hausa on his mobile phone) explaining
that he had given one of the new DDC machines to the speaker
of the state House of Assembly for the polling place in his
ward. John Nwodo Jr., local activist and former cabinet
minister, said that he had tried five times to register but
was unable to find a DDC machine in his ward. He alleged
that of the 3 machines active in his senatorial zone, one was
placed in the ward of the local government authority (LGA)
chairman, another was in the ward of a National Assembly
representative, and the third was in the home ward of the
Senator. He claimed that the machines were being used at
night to register friends and supporters of politicians and
that they were not being rotated amongst the wards as
promised by INEC. Nwodo wanted to travel abroad on business,
but said he dared not do so until he managed to register,
because he feared disenfranchisement.


5. (C) Comment: On voter registration, the view from the
field is unfortunately the same as the view from Abuja. The
exercise is taking place slowly and ineffectively.
Information about where and how to register is sorely
lacking, causing even connected political activists like
Nwodo to fear disenfranchisement. However, no one acts as
though the poorly run registration exercise is a crisis.
Instead, both the government and civil society seem to accept
that the registration period will have to be extended.

CAMPBELL