Vote +
Vote+ is a project by Samuel Ioron Foundation aimed at promoting citizens’ involvement in the political space and reducing voter apathy in Nigeria. This project which is targeted at women, youth in various communities, university students and secondary school students encourages people to register, get their Personal Voters Card (PVC), vote during elections, not sell their votes, and protect their votes by staying to ensure that they are counted. Vote+ also encourages citizens to register with political parties and engage with grassroots politics, the contest for elected positions such as councilorship and chairmanship not for personal gain but for the good of the country and its citizens.
The Vote+ project involves advocacy for policy change with regards to policies that influence the ability of eligible voters to participate in elections, especially policies that prohibit Nigerians in diaspora from voting and policies that insist that one must vote at the unit where they registered. Women’s involvement in the Nigerian political space is also low and Vote+ also aims to increase women’s participation in politics by encouraging more women to get involved in partisan politics and also conducting advocacy campaigns to reduce the barriers that women in politics or who are trying to get into politics face.
This project does all of this by conducting sensitization sessions, social media campaigns, meetings with various stakeholders and using art-based tools such as an illustration book to drive home the messages of the project and provide resources that help citizens register to vote in forthcoming elections.