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Kehinde Akintola
Coalition of Civil Society Organizations working on credible and transparent elections in Nigeria under the aegis of Situation Room on Thursday urged Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to avoid various pitfalls that marred the Presidential and National Assembly’s elections.
The Convener of the Coalition, Ms. Ene Obi who gave the charge during the opening of the Governorship and State Assembly elections across the country, scheduled for 18th March, 2023, expressed grave concern over the non-responsiveness of the Commission to series of calls on audit of the 25th February election.
Ms. Ene Obi who was flanked by leaders of the CSOs, said: Situation Room expects that INEC has taken lessons from the challenges experienced during the Presidential and National Assembly elections of 25th February 2023, and that the Commission has made adequate arrangements to forestall the recurrence of the gaps observed during the elections.
Situation Room also expects that the glitches that led to the malfunctioning of the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV) have been resolved, and that the issues that occasioned the inability of the Commission to conduct elections in some polling units and late opening of polls in others have been addressed.
In particular, the Situation Room calls on INEC to address the shortages in the number of ad hoc staff available for the elections, make adequate transportation arrangements, conduct additional training for the ad hoc staff, and promptly reconfigure and deploy the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and other materials required for the elections.
Most importantly, ensure that it communicates in a timely manner to the public on any challenges or changes made to the electoral process.”
While noting that the Governorship elections will be holding in 28 States while the State Assembly elections will hold in all 36 States, she disclosed that the Coalition will deploy 2,340 election observers, including 131 Person’s with Disabilities, with at least three election observers per Local Government Area in every State of the Federation excluding the Federal Capital Territory.
According to her, the Coalition will also “rely on information from its partners and networks deploying election observers. On the election day, the Election Situation Room will be the main hub for receiving data and reports from the field, which will be analyzed and disseminated through press statements and reports.
“The Situation Room’s observation and analysis of the conduct of Governorship and State Houses of Assembly elections will be guided by the Credibility Threshold for the 2023 General Election, which was produced and shared with election stakeholders, including the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), ahead of the elections.
“The Credibility Threshold document identified issues and factors that could cause the 2023 general election to fall below, remain within, or go beyond the standard established by previous elections. It also outlined expectations from stakeholders to mitigate issues that constitute key risks to the credibility of the general election. The Situation Room will further take into cognizance the contemporary electoral and security environment in assessing the polls,” she noted.
While reacting to the security situation ahead of the Governorship election, Ms. Obi maintained that the “security situation across the country appears tense, with reports of violence, kidnap and assassination in several States including Lagos, Rivers, Imo, Abia, Ebonyi, Enugu and Kano.
“As such, Situation Room reminds the Nigeria Police and other security agencies that they have a primary responsibility to guarantee the safety and security of election officials as well as other election stakeholders, including voters, polling agents, election observers, the media and service providers.
“Security agencies should take adequate measures to forestall the recurrence of acts of voter suppression, disruption of voting, and outright violence experienced in some places during the Presidential and National Assembly elections.
“Furthermore, the Situation Room calls on the Nigeria Police and other security agencies to ensure that they are non-partisan, professional and will avoid any actions capable of being interpreted as acting in support of any political interest.”
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