INEC on Ondo poll: This is how elections should be

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has expressed satisfaction with the conduct of the Ondo state governorship election, saying that is how polls in the country should be.

In an interview with NAN, Oluwole Osaze-Uzzi, the commission’s director of voter education and publicity, attributed the success of the election to “faithful implementation of its plans and collaboration with stakeholders”.

“Just like every other election, we planned towards it and we were faithful to the implementation in ensuring the election was not just successful but also considered to be free and fair,” he said.

“This is how it should be and this is how it was planned to be.We learn from recent elections and make consequential preparation for the election.We would not have been successful without the collaboration of stakeholders, especially the security agencies, National Youth Service Corps, civil society organisations, observers, media and others.

“Most importantly, the people of Ondo state collaborated with us by obeying all the rules and regulations guiding the election.

Uzzi said the people rejected the attempt of politicians to buy their votes, adding that such is a reflection of how much they wanted their votes to count.

“With the understanding and collaboration of stakeholders as demonstrated in Ondo, there would be mutual benefit to all”, he said.

He called for the continued support of stakeholders in future elections adding that the commission was committed to improving the country’s electoral process.

The director pledged that the commission would continue to improve on identified little challenges with a view to improving on the electoral system and rebuilding its confidence in the citizens.