…Urges INEC to sanction polling officials who disregard commission’s guidelines on compulsory use of card readers
A civil society organisation (CSO), under the auspices of the YIAGA AFRICA, on Friday, called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to address the gaps and shortcomings observed in the February 23 Presidential and National Assembly election as its prepares for tomorrow’s polls.
According to YIAGA AFRICA, the March 9 elections present INEC and other stakeholders with an opportunity to address all the gaps and shortcomings observed in the February 23 elections.
Dr Hussaini Abdu, Chairman, YIAGA AFRICA Watching The Vote (WTV), gave the charge at the preliminary press conference on observation plans for the Saturday’s Governorship and State Assembly elections in Abuja.
Abdu, who stressed that Nigerians deserve an election that inspires confidence and restore hope in electoral democracy, noted that the last elections were not the elections Nigerians expected neither was it the elections Nigerians deserved.
“As noted in our statement on the February 23 Presidential and National Assembly elections, the elections were characterised by similar shortcomings that marred previous national elections in Nigeria.
“We maintained that Nigeria lost an opportunity to improve the quality of its elections as compared to the 2015 national elections. The elections were not the elections Nigerians expected neither is it the elections Nigerians deserved,” he said.
While he expressed delight that the deployment of election materials to the states for the Saturday’s elections has so far been encouraging, Abdu urged the INEC to ensure strict compliance with the use of card readers for voter accreditation.
He said polling officials who disregard the INEC guidelines and regulations on the elections should be sanctioned.
“YIAGA AFRICA calls on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to ensure a proper coordination and communication with the transport companies/unions providing logistics support to ensure early deployment of materials and personnel to polling units to break the trend of late commencement of polls.
“YIAGA AFRICA notes from its observation of the Presidential Elections the need for INEC to ensure proper communication on the election process to ensure uniformity and strict compliance to the electoral guidelines.
“This includes the need for all Presiding officers/Assistant Presiding Officers at the Polling units/Voting points to ensure that the smart card readers are shown to be zero at the commencement of accreditation and announce the number of accredited voters at the close of polls before sorting and counting of ballots.
“There is need for clarity on who reserves the authority to cancel ballots and the levels where cancellation will take place.
“YIAGA AFRICA notes that during the February 23 elections the Smart Card Readers were not used throughout the process of accreditation of voters in 7% of polling units.
“In another 2% of polling units, persons were permitted to vote without a Permanent Voter Card (PVC). These infractions pose a threat to the integrity of the electoral process if not curtailed,” he said.
He also expressed concern over the increasing reports of attacks on INEC officials, materials and structures, calling on the security agencies to effectively deploy security protection to properly secure INEC officials and election materials especially on Election Day.
“YIAGA AFRICA condemns the vandalization and destruction of INEC office in Ibesikpo, Akwa Ibom State,” he said.
Abdu also condemned the non-compliance with result collation guidelines by INEC officials especially presiding officers, ward collations officers and returning officers in the last elections.
“INEC should ensure collation centres are accessible to accredited observers. The form EC 40 G should be revised to include details for cancellation for every polling unit canceled.
“The current form only captures the 4 name of the polling unit and the total number of registered voters affected without reasons for cancellation.
“To increase transparency of the collation process, INEC is encouraged to share Form EC40G series with party agents present during the different stages of the collation process,” he remarked.