The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) says it
will no longer tolerate issues of violence during elections.
The electoral commission had on Saturday suspended the Ekiti
East constituency bye-election following the outbreak of violence in various
polling units in the LGA.
In an interview with NAN on Sunday, Festus Okoye, INEC’s
national commissioner, said the decision to suspend the bye-election was to
preserve the integrity of the exercise.
“These measures are necessary to preserve the integrity of
elections and the life and safety of voters, election officials and security
personnel on election duty,” Okoye said.
“INEC will never condone electoral banditry aimed at
discrediting the electoral process and retuning predetermined outcomes.
“To buckle under the pressure of organised, coordinated and
mindless violence will lead to and amount to surrendering the sovereign
democratic rights of the people to clean elections, and the suzerainty of
anti-democratic forces.”
He urged security agencies to take proactive measures to
curb potential threats ahead of the Aba North/South federal constituency
election in Abia state.
The Abia election has been scheduled for March 27, while the
Isoko North bye-election in Delta will hold on April 10.
Okoye said: “As the commission prepares for the conduct of
the two by-elections, we urge the security agencies to proactively carry out
comprehensive security clearance operations in the two constituencies and
neutralize potential threats to the conduct of clean elections in the
constituencies.
“The commission will not stake or mortgage the life and
security of any official on election duty and that of the voters, in the face
of a contrived atmosphere of fear, anxiety and violence.
“It will be unconscionable and amount to dereliction of its
electoral duty for the commission to proceed with any election in the face of
brazen violence that has compromised the integrity of an election.
“The organisation and
conduct of elections require long term planning, resources and mobilisation,
therefore, the commission cannot engage in endless conduct of elections on
account of the activities of merchants of violence and electoral bandits.
“It is important for the commission to complete the
expansion of voter access to polling units, as this will give expression to the
true value of the vote and make voting less cumbersome for the Nigerians.”
The INEC commissioner noted that the electoral body will
soon resume the continuous voter registration exercise and capture those that
have attained the age of 18.
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