By Godfrey AKON
The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has cautioned accredited observers for the Edo and Ondo states governorship elections to comply with the objectives of election observation and Code of Conduct contained in the commission’s rules of engagement.
The commission warned that it reserves the right to revoke the accreditation of any individual observer or observer group that violates the code of conduct for election observation.
INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, gave the warning at the commission’s Third Regular Quarterly Consultative Meeting with Civil Society Organisations, CSOs, on Tuesday in Abuja.
Yakubu urged the accredited observers to access a concise summary of the code of conduct contained in the 22-page document entitled “Briefing for Observers” which is available on the commission’s website.
He also reminded CSOs of the need to submit the list of their observers by uploading the required information, including photographs, to the dedicated portal, adding that as at Monday 29th July 2024, only 56 organisations had uploaded details of 894 observers for the Edo State governorship election, representing 33.6 per cent of the expected 2,660 observers.
According to him, the deadline for submission is Wednesday 31stJuly 2024 when the portal automatically shuts down at 6pm, urging them to ensure they meet the deadline so the commission can produce accreditation tags and deliver them for distribution to their observers in good time.
Yakubu also disclosed that the final register for the forthcoming governorship elections is being finalised as INEC has successfully concluded the Continuous Voter Registration, CVR, display of voter register for claims and objections by citizens, and further data clean-up using the Automated Biometric Identification System, ABIS.
The INEC chairman further said “before the end of this week, the Commission will publish the final figures of new voters in the two States as well as their distribution by gender, age, occupation and disability.
“Thereafter, the timetable for the collection of uncollected Permanent Voters’ Cards (PVCs) from previous registration, and new registrants from the latest CVR, will be published. Based on the information provided by the Commission, we look forward to your partnership in encouraging citizens to collect their PVCs.”
While stating that campaign by political parties and candidates is in full swing in both Edo and Ondo states, urged CSOs to intensify their advocacy for peaceful elections, including engagement with stakeholders.
“The Commission finds the recent event in Edo State resulting in the death of a security personnel worrisome. Happily, there has been no incident known to the Commission since then. Nevertheless, the Commission will meet with the security agencies as early as Friday this week under the auspices of the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES).
“I want to assure you that security in Edo and Ondo will be a major issue for discussion at the meeting. We are as concerned about the safety of candidates, agents and supporters as we are about the security of our own officials, observers, journalists, service providers and, above all, the voters,” he said.
