Cross River, Abia hold council polls

Cross River State Independent Electoral Commission (CROSIEC) has said it is ready to conduct a hitch-free and peaceful election across the 18 local councils of the state.

The commission’s Chairman, Dr Ekong Edet Bocco, made this known while addressing the media shortly after distributing sensitive materials for the November 2 council election to the 18 local councils of the state at the commission’s office in Calabar.

He revealed that 10 political parties are participating in the election.
Bocco said the commission has trained all the ad-hoc staff deployed to the 3,281 polling units across the state to ensure a smooth election.

He said during the election, only registered voters with valid voter cards are expected to complete the accreditation process for the election that would start by 8am and stop by 2 pm.

While displaying materials for the election, which include the ballot papers and result sheets, he debunked rumours making the rounds that the commission has already completed results for the election in favour of a particular party.

The commission’s chairman also warned against illegal activities in and around polling units, stressing that actions including vote buying, underage voting and bribing officials would not be tolerated.

On his part, the State Chairman of Interparty Advisory Council (IPAC) and chairman, Action People’s Party, Effiom Edet Okon, expressed confidence in the entire process.

Meanwhile, the Commissioner of Police, Cross River State Command, CP Gyogon Augustine Grimah, has announced a restriction of movement in the state during the period of the election.

He announced in a statement issued by the command’s Public Relations Officer, SP Irene Ugbo.

He said the restriction would be from 12am to 6pm on November 2 .
“Only those on essential duties, such as medical personnel, accredited election observers and security personnel, will be permitted to move within restricted areas,” the CP said.

Similarly, the scheduled Abia State local council election will be held on Saturday, November 2, 2024.

The Chairman of the State Independent Electoral Commission (ABSIEC ), Prof. George Chima, said the commission is determined to conduct a free, fair and credible election.

“The training of workers has been concluded and materials dispatched to various councils.”
He urged all political parties to play according to the rules.