Ahead of the September 21 Edo State governorship election, the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, has assured that the polls would be fair and credible, stressing that the electoral umpire is not a political party and has no preferred candidate in the election.
While expressing readiness and commitment to conducting a free, fair and credible election in the state, Yakubu said that the responsibility of choosing the next governor rests entirely in the hands of Edo voters.
The INEC boss, who gave this assurance in Benin City, yesterday, after assessing the level of readiness by its staff, appealed to all registered voters in the state to come out en masse to vote for the party and candidate of their choice.
He added that the commission would always protect the integrity of the process and uphold the choice made by the electorate.
Yakubu, who visited three local councils, Oredo, Egor and Ikpeoba Okha, expressed satisfaction with the levels of preparation at the INEC offices, as well as the two centres visited for the mock accreditation exercise, confirming that the commission is good to go.
IN the meantime, the Transition Monitoring Group (TMG) has raised concerns that the current economic hardship in the country might lead to widespread vote-buying in the upcoming governorship election in Edo State.
The organisation warned that the desperate economic situation may push residents to sell their votes to the highest bidder.
It called on the Economic Finance and Crime Commission (EFCC) to deploy adequate monitors/personnel during the election to deter, arrest and prosecute perpetrators of vote buying and selling.
TMG Chairman, Auwal Musa Rafsanjani, who stated these at a press briefing in Abuja, yesterday, observed that there is still skepticism regarding the credibility of elections in Nigeria.
He noted skepticism around the conduct of the INEC, the political parties and their candidates, security agencies and party supporters.
Rafsanjani, who further noted incidences of political parties’ intolerance and violence, including inter/intra-party conflicts ahead of the election, said that the development signalled a poor atmosphere for a peaceful election in Edo.
He also expressed concerns over reports of the destruction of campaign materials and personal properties by suspected political opponents, maintaining that the recruitment and deployment of thugs to intimate and harass non-supporters of certain political parties are highly undemocratic and condemnable.
