The National Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, has disclosed that flaws observed and recorded during the recent Edo State gubernatorial election have been identified and will be improved upon during the November 16 governorship election in Ondo State.
While assuring the electorate in the state that the poll would be seamless, Yakubu stressed that the two challenges that hindered the Edo election were logistics issues and result management.
According to the INEC Chairman, who revealed this in Akure, the state capital, the electoral body is fully prepared for the poll, hence his arrival in the state to meet with stakeholders ahead of the election.
Prof. Yakubu, who stated that mock accreditation of voters will be observed in six local councils of the state on Wednesday, added that the peace accord will also be signed by the political gladiators in the state.
He said: “We have received positive reports from our state office in Akure, but we also decided to come for a readiness assessment.
“So, we are here basically to look at what is happening and the good work that the state office has done. We are going to meet with the stakeholders, including political parties, civil society organisations, the media, and security agencies, and we are also going to meet with our staff to assess our readiness. We will be here for a few days.
“One of the activities we are also going to observe is the mock accreditation of voters, which will take place in 16 polling units across six local government areas in the three senatorial zones of the state.
“In addition to other activities, we are also going to meet with the stakeholders on Thursday, and the following day, the National Peace Committee will also invite all the stakeholders for the signing of the National Peace Accord.
“We have learnt a lot of lessons not only from the last election but also from previous elections. Basically, there are two challenges. The first one is logistics for the election so that polling units open promptly on election day.
“The second one is result management, and my assurance to voters in Ondo State is that they are going to see fast improvement in these two processes.”
While at the state headquarters of the commission, the INEC Chairman inaugurated a newly built Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) storage facility stating that “this facility is an essential component in maintaining the integrity of our electoral process.”
