The independent National Electoral Commission ( INEC) ahead of parties Congresses and primaries have rolled out guidelines for politicians, political parties and relevant stakeholders in Delta.
Rev. Monday Udoh-Tom, the INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in the state on Thursday stated this during a meeting with electoral officers and executive officers of political parties in Asaba.
Udoh-Tom said, ” Let me therefore appeal to our political leaders, through you, to conduct themselves in the most peaceful manner, before, during and after the upcoming parties Congresses and Primaries knowing full well, the consequences of breach of, in course of the exercise.”
”In a shortwhile, the Commission staff will go to the field to monitor Congresses and Primaries by the respective political parties, to ensure compliance with the provisions of the Electoral Act.
”Before we mobilize to the field, the Commission is convinced of the necessity of seating together under one roof to look at the provisions of the law, with regard to nomination of candidates, the obligations of political parties and role of INEC.
”The essence of this meeting therefore is to minimize or eliminate misunderstanding, in the course of the Congresses and primaries.
”Let me emphasize that, the Commission is duty bound to do the right thing as provided for in the legal framework and guidelines for the conduct of Congresses and Primaries, particularly with regard to what the law expects of the Commission.
”This Commission will adhere strictly without compromise to these provision in the law,” he said.
Udoh-Tom also disclosed that it was no longer news that, the Commission has stepped up its tempo of activities , in readiness for the 2023 General Elections, especially in the area of engaging both internal and external stakeholders.
”In the course of this meeting , you will be briefed on provisions of the Act and Guidelines, as well as what is expected of you during and after the primaries and Congresses.
”To ensure the success of the exercise, the Commission has set up a Central Supervisory Committee, comprising members of the State Management Team and a hotline 09024276027, so as to maximize our capacity to guarantee a hitch free exercise.
”While the Commission is not taking the relative peace in the state for granted, it met with heads of Security agencies in the State, under the auspices of the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security(ICCES), on April 26.
”During the meeting a number of decisions were arrived at to further ensure peace and order in the course of the Congresses and Primaries,” he said.
On-going Continuous Voters Registration, the REC said that out of the 140,000 registrants processed at the back end of the Commission’s CVR Automated Biometric Identification System(ABIS) in Delta, only 70,000 passed the Valid registration test.
Udoh-Tom said that the other 70,000 were rejected and thrown out as invalid registration.
According to him, the Commission’s interrogation of the reasons for this development points to double registration and incomplete information provided by registrants at the point of registration.
”We are of the view that, the efforts put in place to register this 70,000 invalid registrants, amount to a waste of resources by both the Commission and those involved in mobilizing registrants.
”It is on this note, we appeal to politicians to desist from mobilizing people who are already registered or pressurizing our staff to engage in carrying out double registration.
”Moreso with the new provisions in the Act, which now provides for N500,000 fine and one year jail without option of fine, as penalty,” he added.
