The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) said it
has approved a new policy framework for Conducting Elections in the Context of
COVID-19 Pandemic.
The commission, in a statement issued by Mr Festus Okoye,
INEC National Commissioner in Abuja on Thursday, said the policy document would
be released on May 25.
Okoye said that the provisions given would be applied to the
conduct of governorship Elections in Edo and Ondo States scheduled for Sept. 19
and Oct. 10, respectively, as well as other by-elections to be conducted soon
in seven States.
He said “The general purpose of the Policy is to enable
officials and staff of the Commission to understand and respond adequately to
the challenges of conducting elections in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The clean copy of the policy document, which will be
released on Monday, May 25, covers health and legal issues, election planning
and operations, election day and post-election activities.
“It also covers voter registration, political parties,
election observation, electoral security and deployment of technology.
“Conducting elections in a pandemic such as COVID-19 is yet
uncharted waters. Only very few jurisdictions have any experience with this.
“That notwithstanding, the Commission is committed to
conducting all elections that are due within the extant legal framework.
“However, in so doing it will put a premium on public safety
and mitigation of health risks from COVID-19.
“Citizens must be assured that they will be safe while
participating as voters, candidates and officials.
“The Commission remains committed to raising public
confidence in the electoral process in spite of the challenges posed by the
pandemic and to regularly communicate its actions and challenges to the
public.”
Okoye also disclosed that in view of the end of tenure
governorship elections in Edo and Ondo, INEC would flag off robust engagements
with its critical stakeholders to present the policy document by meeting with
Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) on May 30.
He said that the meeting would be followed by that of
political parties on June 1, civil society groups on June 2, and the media on
June 3.
According to him, the commission had also received the
official declaration of vacancies for four Senatorial Districts and read
reports of the passing of a Senator and four members of some State Houses of
Assembly.
“As of today, the Commission is planning for nine
by-elections across seven States of the Federation.
“The by-elections are Bayelsa Central and West Senatorial
Districts, Imo North Senatorial District, Plateau South Senatorial District and
Cross River North Senatorial District.
“Others are Nganzai State Constituency, Borno State; Bayo
State Constituency, Borno State; Nasarawa Central State Constituency, Nasarawa
State; and Bakori State Constituency, Katsina State
“The provisions of the Policy on Conducting Elections in the
Context of the COVID-19 Pandemic shall also apply to the conduct of these
elections,” he added.
He appealed all Nigerians to adhere strictly to the
coronavirus protocols issued by the health authorities, NAN reports.
Click to signup for FREE news updates, latest information and hottest gists everyday
Advertise on NigerianEye.com to reach thousands of our daily users
No comments
Post a Comment
Kindly drop a comment below.
(Comments are moderated. Clean comments will be approved immediately)
Advert Enquires - Reach out to us at NigerianEye@gmail.com