INEC ready for free, fair poll, Yakubu declares
The Chairman of the Independent Electoral Commission, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, on Tuesday, expressed satisfaction with the mock accreditation in Benin, confirming INEC’s readiness to conduct a free, fair and credible election in Edo State on September 21.
The INEC chairman gave the assurance when he paid an on-the-spot assessment visit to the three Local Government Areas where the mock accreditation took place on Tuesday.
The mock accreditation held in the Egor, Ikpoba Okha and Oredo local government areas of the state.
Addressing journalists after the exercise in Benin, Yakubu said from his assessment, the commission was fully ready for the September 21 governorship election, noting that the electorate had nothing to worry about.
He said, “This is our readiness assessment visit to Edo State and the purpose is to reach some three Local Government Areas to assess our readiness in terms of preparations and materials received so far as well as how we are organising the election in the next 11 days. We have also visited two centres to observe the mock accreditation exercise.
“We intended to test-run the integrity of our systems ahead of the election and those for voter registration as well as the upload of the results to the IReV portal.
“So, we have observed, and so far so good, in terms of the readiness of our Local Government offices for the election and also the technology that we are deploying for the election, everything is in perfect condition.”
The INEC chairman stated that the commission under his watch had done its best, noting that it behooved the electorate to come out en masse to vote for the candidates of their choice on election day.
“INEC is not a political party, therefore, we don’t have a candidate in this election. The responsibility of choosing the governor of Edo State is entirely in the hands of Edo voters and our call on all the registered voters in the state is to troop out to vote for the party of their choice and the candidate of their choices. The commission will always protect the integrity of the person and uphold the choice made by the electorate,” Yakubu said.
He also appealed to stakeholders, including security agencies, to collaborate with INEC to ensure a successful poll in the state.
He added, “Let me use this opportunity to appeal to other stakeholders, including the security agencies, the political parties, the candidates, the observers and the media to contribute to the successful conduct of the poll.
“We have enough backup. For instance, all the machines used for the mock accreditation in 12 polling units across three senatorial districts in Edo State will not be used for the election.
“This is an off-cycle election; we have enough systems to go around. So, I want to assure you that the integrity of the process is protected.”
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