INEC, Lawmakers To Amend Electoral Act To Allow Underage Married Girls To Vote

Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Mahmood Yakubu has revealed that the commission will work with lawmakers to amend the electoral act in a bid to give underage married girls the chance to participate in elections.

Yakubu who said this following the recommendation of the national assembly joint committee on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)  that married underage girls be recognised as eligible voters, however, pointed out that the issue of voting age is a constitutional matter.

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Making the recommendation to the technical committee which will work on the new electoral act proposed by the federal lawmakers, the national assembly revealed that once a lady is married despite not being 18, she should be considered to be matured enough to vote.

The chairman of the Senate Committee on INEC Kabiru Gaya said the recommendation was a united unanimously taken by the joint committee of the National Assembly on INEC.

“The joint committee has proposed that if a lady who is not up to 18 years is married, she should be considered to be mature enough and be eligible to vote,” Gaya said.

Backing Gaya, Aisha Dukku, the chairperson of the house of representatives committee on INEC, pointed out that recommendation cannot be discarded due to the fact that it was suggested by stakeholders at the public hearing.

“It is already in the electoral act amendments submitted in the last assembly, so it cannot be thrown away just like that.

“We should look at it and come up with something instead of throwing it away. It is not from us but from the stakeholders on the day of the public hearing held in the 8th assembly,” the chairperson said.