Voting Voluntary, Not Mandatory, Ajumbe, APC Chieftain Tells Reps
The National Coordinator, Association of Former ANPP members, Prof. Vitalis Ajumbe, has said that voting is a voluntary action and not mandatory.
Ajumbe stated this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Monday. NAN reports that a bill seeking to make voting mandatory passed second reading in the House of Representatives on Thursday.
NAN also reports that the bill was sponsored by Speaker of the house, Tajudeen Abbas and Daniel Ago. Ago, while leading the debate, said that the proposed legislation sought to amend the Electoral Act, 2022 to address the problem of low voter turnout.
He said that the compulsory voting law would increase civic engagement and voter participation, thus making electoral involvement a legal obligation rather than a personal choice. Ajumbe, an APC chieftain, however, argued that some professionals like security agents might not vote as a result of the discharge of their duties.
“Voting is a voluntary action and not mandatory. Those who are behind the bill, are they saying that even those in detention should be allowed to come and vote?
“What of policemen and other security agents, must they also vote?” he queried. Ajumbe, while opposing the bill, advised the lawmakers to look for other pressing issues to talk about rather than dissipating energy on the compulsory voting bill.