INEC Steps Up Preparation for Scheduled Guber Polls in Edo, Ondo

Adedayo Akinwale writes that the Independent National Electoral Commission is engaging critical stakeholders in the electoral process ahead of the fast approaching governorship polls in Edo and Ondo States.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) last week held its regular quarterly consultative meeting with major stakeholders in the electoral process including political parties, civil society organisations and the media.

The quarterly meeting was the first since the conclusion of the by-elections and court-ordered re-run polls held in February, 2024 in 26 States of the Federation.

The main focus of last week’s meeting was the off-cycle governorship elections in Edo and Ondo States. The Edo State Governorship election is scheduled to hold on Saturday 21st September, 2024; while the Ondo State Governorship election is scheduled for Saturday, 16th November, 2024.

Already, party primaries for the Edo State Governorship election have been concluded. By the timetable and schedule of activities for the election, political parties have 20 days to upload the list and personal particulars of their candidates to the commission’s dedicated portal.

INEC chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, who presided over the meetings said the commission has trained party Liaison Officers and established a Help Desk for political parties. He said the dedicated portal opened on 4th March 2024 and expectedly will automatically shut down at 6pm on Saturday, 24th March 2024.

According to him, two weeks after it was opened, not all the parties had uploaded their nominations to the portal.

To this end,  the Commission called on the political parties to keep to the commission’s schedule of activities and avoid last minute rush that might undermine their ability to successfully nominate their candidates.

“There will be no extension of time beyond the deadline already published in the Timetable and Schedule of Activities for the election, to enable us publish the personal particulars of candidates (Form EC9) on 31st March 2024 as required by law,” Yakubu warned.

Moreso, for the Ondo State Governorship election, party primaries will commence on 6th April 2024, and end on 27th April 2024. So far, 16 out of 19 political parties have indicated interest in participating in the election.

Yakubu said: “I urge political parties to adhere strictly to your proposed dates and modes of primaries. Frequent changes as we witnessed recently during the Edo primaries are not only disruptive but costly. The Commission cannot mobilise, demobilise and remobilise our officials for the monitoring of party primaries at the convenience of political parties.

“Parties should stick to their proposed dates and modes of primaries for certainty and optimal deployment of resources. Similarly, political parties should avoid acrimonious primaries. Increasingly, the conduct of parallel primaries and the emergence of multiple candidates is a frequent occurrence.

“So too is the tendency to grant waivers to candidates who were a few days earlier card-carrying members of other political parties and nominating such persons to the Commission as their candidates for election. Some of these infractions lead to unnecessary litigations among party members in which the Commission is always joined as a party. The legal fees and cost of producing Certified True Copies (CTCs) of documents can be used more productively in other electoral activities by both the political parties and the Commission. We must find a solution to this situation.”

Responding to Yakubu’s remarks, the Chairman, Inter Party Advisory Council (IPAC) and Chairman Allied People’s Movement (APM), Yusuf Dantalle said there should be no excuse for poor performance in the forthcoming off cycle elections in Edo and Ondo states.

He assured that IPAC would constantly engage INEC and major stakeholders to ensure the success of these elections and will be there for mobilisation of voters, sensitisation and monitoring of polls.

Dantalle was of the opinion that it is their duty as political leaders to ensure the elections meet international best practices and also hold critical stakeholders accountable.

According to him, vote selling and buying, thuggery, voter apathy and intimidation of electoral officials particularly to declare results under duress are still issues militating against the conduct of credible polls in Nigeria.

Dantalle added that the current leadership of IPAC would live up to its mandate to ensure an environment conducive for the conduct of successful elections.

IPAC, he said, would set up a Constitution and Electoral Act Amendments Committee to review glaring irregularities in recent elections and make proposals to the National Assembly in its ongoing Constitution and Electoral Act amendments.

His words: “Accordingly, IPAC will set up a Constitution and Electoral Act Amendments Committee to review glaring irregularities in recent elections and make proposals to the National Assembly in its ongoing Constitution and Electoral Act amendments.

“In this regard, IPAC will be proactive to ensure that the Edo and Ondo States gubernatorial elections meet the expectations of Nigerians and international community.

“There should be no excuse for poor performance. IPAC will constantly engage INEC and major stakeholders to ensure the success of these elections and will be there for mobilization of voters, sensitization and monitoring of polls.”

During the engagement with CSOs, the Commission called on them to engage with political parties and observe their primaries.

The commission said by doing so, the CSOs would strengthen their advocacy for inclusivity for groups such as women, youths and Persons with Disabilities (PwDs) that are under-represented in elective offices at National and State level.

Yakubu said: “Turning to Ondo State, political parties will commence their primaries for the Governorship election in the next two weeks. Sixteen Political Parties have indicated interest in participating in the election.

“I urge Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) to engage with Political Parties and observe their primaries just as you engage with INEC and deploy observers to the main election conducted by the Commission.

“By doing so, you will strengthen your advocacy for inclusivity for groups such as women, youths and Persons with Disability (PwD) that are under-represented in elective offices at National and State level.”

The INEC Chairman said while some of the CSOs have submitted their reports on the 2023 elections, some have not. He noted that some of the reforms and innovations introduced by the Commission over the years were drawn from their observation reports.

His words: “However, while many of you have submitted your reports, some accredited observers are yet to do so for the general election, supplementary elections, off-cycle elections, by-elections and re-run elections.

“May I therefore seize this opportunity to remind those that are yet to submit their observation reports that it is mandatory to do so being one of the conditions for eligibility to observe future elections. Going forward, the Commission will operate strictly on the policy of “No Observation Report, No Accreditation.”

While meeting with the security agencies, the Commission demanded that security agencies should start security preparations very early ahead of the Edo and Ondo State governorship elections.

Interestingly, both Edo and Ondo States have 18 Local Government Areas each. While Edo has 2,501,081 registered voters, 192 Registration Areas/Wards and 4,519 Polling Units; Ondo State has 1,991,344 registered voters, 203 Registration Areas/Wards and 3,933 Polling Units.

However, the terrain differs in the two states,  while there are a few riverine locations in Edo State, two Local Government Areas in Ondo State (Ese Odo and Ilaje) are predominantly riverine.

According to Yakubu: “It is important to start security preparations very early. In particular, the number of personnel and other assets to be deployed to strategic locations should be determined and mobilised early enough.

“It was this proactive approach that led to the successful conduct of the last Governorship election in Edo State on 19th September 2020 and in Ondo State on 10th October 2020.

“There were no security incidents, materials were delivered promptly, logistics deployed smoothly, polling units opened on time, voters attended to efficiently and results collated and announced transparently.

“Let us replicate the successful conduct of the last Governorship elections in Edo and Ondo States. In fact, working together, we should ensure that the 2024 Governorship elections in Edo and Ondo States are an improvement on the success story of 2020.”

Like the usual practice, the engagements with critical stakeholders will continue till the elections are held.