The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has assured voters in Ekiti and Osun states that their votes will be counted in the governorship elections.
The dates for the elections are June 18 and July 16, respectively.
INEC Commissioner of Information and Voter Education Festus Okoye said that preparations for free, fair, transparent, and inclusive elections in Ekiti and Osun are well underway.
He claims that the commission is not taking anything for granted as it prepares for the elections.
INEC’s spokesman stated that the commission is confident in the accreditation devices’ optimal functioning, referring to the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS).
“We are holding meetings and putting together strategies and tactics of making sure INEC conducts free, fair and transparent elections in both states,” Okoye said.
“We are confident that whatever issues there are with the BVAS have been resolved, and we are expecting to have a very good accreditation process at the elections.
“Those two elections may likely be the only off-season governorship election that we are going to conduct before the 2023 general election.
“We are preparing, and we are preparing very hard.
“We have also made it possible for people to have trust and confidence in the electoral process through the introduction of the BVAS.
“With the introduction of BVAS, people believe that ghosts will not come to vote. People believe that those who have quarantined permanent voter cards (PVCs) will not be in a position to use them. So, only the living will cast their votes in Osun and Ekiti.
“We are putting everything in place to make sure that we conduct a good election in both states. We are preparing for these two elections, and we are preparing well.
“People must have hope that the electoral management body will do what is right in terms of making sure that the only determinant of who gets elected and who does not get elected, will revolve around the votes of the people cast at the polling units.”
The new electoral statute, according to Okoye, will increase the commission’s ability to run a successful election.
He stated that the commission had begun the process of hiring ad-hoc workers for the elections.
Okoye asked political parties to join the commission in voter mobilisation in response to the persistent trend of voter indifference.
“The conduct of elections and management of elections and ensuring that elections are free, fair, transparent and inclusive remain a multi-stakeholder venture,” he said.
“No individual, no agency, and no commission can do it alone. The main task of voter mobilisation remains with political parties.
“Civil society groups and organisations also have a role and a responsibility in this area. The same is with the media and other critical stakeholders.
“The issue of voter apathy must be tackled headlong and must be a multi-stakeholders aggressive venture. Nigerians must be made to understand that they hold the power through their votes and must shun selling their votes on election day.”
He said that the commission had added more polling units to ensure a smooth voting process on election day.
INEC will convene top-level security meetings with various security agencies under the aegis of the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES), according to Okoye, in order to boost people’s confidence in their ability to vote without fear of violence.
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