OFF-CYCLE ELECTIONS: INEC says its ready for Nov 11 polls, raises concerns on court judgements after printing election documents
Oru Leonard
The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, has said the Commission is ready to conduct the upcoming off-cycle Governorship elections in Bayelsa, Imo and Kogi states which will take place on November 11, 2023.
Prof Yakubu disclosed this on Tuesday 24th October, 2023 at the Commission’s headquarters in Abuja during a consultative meeting with Leaders of Political Parties.
He noted it is the first time that the Commission will be conducting three off-cycle Governorship elections simultaneously across different geo-political zones and it is made possible by the coincidence of the end of tenure of the current holders of the offices which fall within the constitutional timeframe as enshrined in Section 178(2) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended).
He further stated that the Commission has delivered all non-sensitive materials for the elections to the three States while the training of various categories of ad hoc staff is currently ongoing and soft copies of the completed register of voters available to all political parties participating in the elections.
Prof Yakubu also revealed that political parties have uploaded the names of their polling and collation agents to a dedicated web portal, with a total of 137,934 agents being registered so far while urging all political parties to consider the submission of agent names as important as the nomination of election candidates.
However, the INEC chairman expressed concern on the spate of recent judgements and orders of court in respect of the nomination, substitution or disqualification of candidates after all the sensitive materials have been printed.
“Although the Commission has already published the final list of candidates for the three States, four recent court orders have compelled us to review the list, however, these changes have been reflected in the updated list of parties and candidates on our website. However, this decision is without prejudice to any pending appeal by the affected candidates or their political parties”, he lamented.
To ensure maximum security and to avoid impersonation by non-accredited persons, Prof. Yakubu said the Commission has concluded plans to distribute political agents’ identity cards ‘QR Code-readable’ which the printing will be completed this weekend to allow political parties enough time to distribute the cards to their agents.
Speaking at the consultative meeting, the IPAC Chairman, Sani Yabagi stated that the Commission must continue to demonstrate impartiality, transparency and a commitment to conducting free, fair and credible elections, noting that INEC should seize the opportunity of these three off cycle elections to deal with the issue of confidence deficit among the citizenry following the outcome of the 2023 national elections.
On security he said, “The involvement of security agencies in the electoral process, when it becomes unavailable, must be based on professionalism, neutrality and a commitment to the defense of our democracy, rather than partisan interests,”
Yabagi reiterated that the citizens must feel secure in their participation in the electoral process, knowing that their safety and security is assured.
