Ekiti Election: INEC Deploys 8 RECS, 4 Nat’l Commissioners, Warns Against Violence
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has deployed eight Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) and four national commissioners for the conduct of the June 18, 2022, governorship election in Ekiti State.
The commission warned against violence before, during and after the exercise, assuring stakeholders that votes would count.
INEC Chairman, Prof Mahmood Yakubu, gave the warning yesterday during a stakeholders’ meeting organised by the commission in Ado-Ekiti, noting that the commission would maintain and protect transparency and security of the electoral process in the state.
He said, “Let me assure political parties and voters that the task of electing a new governor will be left in the hands of Ekiti voters. We won’t take any action that would put any party and candidate in a vantage position. We are going to do everything according to the constitution and provisions of the Electoral Act.”
He further said four national commissioners and eight RECs had been deployed to ensure conduct of a credible election, adding that a total of 749,065 voters representing 76 per cent had collected their Permanent Voter’s Card (PVC).
According to him, “To underscore how prepared we are, we have provided magnifying glasses and braille ballot papers for visually impaired citizens, while the Bimodal Voters Authentication System Machines (BVAS) will be used for accreditation.
“We are not unaware that vote buying is a destroyer of electoral process. To show how determined we are to stop this menace, we have changed the configuration of the ballot boxes in all polling units to prevent vote buying.
“We are also partnering the operatives of ICPC and EFCC to deploy their men and deal with vote buyers and sellers according to the law.”
On his part, the REC in Ekiti State, Dr Adeniran Tella, revealed that pregnant women, people living with disabilities and the aged would be given priority to vote on election day.
