INEC committed to conducting free, fair election in Ondo, says REC

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) says it is committed to conducting a free, fair, and credible election in Ondo state on November 16.

The off-cycle governorship election in Ondo is scheduled for November 16.

Oluwatoyin Babalola, the Ondo resident electoral commissioner (REC), spoke in Abuja on Tuesday at a Nigeria Civil Society situation room dialogue organised on the forthcoming off-cycle governorship election in the state.

Babalola said INEC is fully aware of its duty of conducting a free and fair election in the state and had put measures in place to actualise the goal.

She said the state, with 18 LGAs, has 2,0531,061 registered voters, adding that INEC had distributed 61,919 permanent voter cards (PVCs).

The REC added that the bimodal voter accreditation system (BVAS) would be deployed in all the 3,933 polling units in the state, stressing that arrangements for transportation and security collaboration are on.

“I wish to state that INEC in Ondo state is fully geared up for the conduct of the 2024 governorship elections scheduled to hold on November 16, 2024,” NAN quoted Babalola to have said.

“To ensure a seamless and successful electoral process, we have implemented some proactive measures, including working ahead of timelines, applying the lessons learnt from previous elections, and ensuring capacity building for our staff and ad hoc staff.

“We are also engaging in intense collaboration with critical stakeholders and ensuring early opening of RAC and pulling units.

“Our resolve in the state is that polling units will open early while election officials will wait for voters and not the other way round.

“These measures demonstrate INEC’s preparedness and dedication to conducting free, fair, and credible elections in Ondo State. With careful planning and collaboration, the commission is poised to conduct a successful election.”

Babalola said the commission has been engaging the media to engage citizens on voter education and sensitisation in order to reduce voter apathy and build their confidence.

She said meetings have also been held with some civil society organisations and advocacy visits have been paid to traditional leaders to discourage youths from engaging in violent acts.

Yanusa Ya’u, the convener of the Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room and executive director of Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD), said the mission of observers is not limited to the activities on election day.

“Observation will allow us to identify areas of weakness and areas of challenges and call the attention of relevant agencies so that remediation can take place,” Ya’u said.

“We believe that without credible elections, democracy will itself be facing serious challenges because the confidence of people in the democratic processes will be challenged when they believe that their votes do not count.

“We are committed to doing everything possible within the limit of our resources and endowments to contribute to that process.

“For us, we see INEC as a partner in the democratisation process.

“But we will not shy away when we see lapses, and particularly when we see lapses that consistently occur in the conduct of elections in this country.

“We hope that some of the weaknesses and lapses, and perhaps even the situation we witnessed in Edo, will not repeat itself in Ondo State.

“We have confidence in the REC and all the stakeholders in the conduct of the election.”