Ahead of the October 5, 2024, local government elections in Rivers State, some election monitors have expressed worry about the lack of sensitization by the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC) to voters.

Checks show that while campaign posters of some candidates are visible, many people who will be voting for the local government councilors and chairmen have little knowledge of the candidates themselves, let alone their manifestos or policy platforms.

The cordinator of the Transition Monitoring Group in Rivers State, Nathaniel Akpos, said the residents have more information about political parties who are not going to participate in the polls, information on political parties at loggerheads, knowledge on conflicts issues across the Local Government areas but less information about the elections, candidates, and programmes.

The Commission had attributed the delay in pasting lists of candidates to the one-week #endbadgovernanceprotest which affected some of its scheduled activities and political parties from tidying up their documentation.

The Monitoring group coordinator said, “RSIEC is not doing enough, the sensitization for the election is not what it ought to be, however, we encourage the commission to do more sensitization, follow the rule of law, and go into the election, and let votes count.”

Also, the Programme and Communications Director of Social Action, Peter Mazi, urged RSIEC to increase the areness campaign.

Mazi said, “The upcoming Local Government elections in Rivers State, scheduled for October 5, 2024, seem to lack adequate voter engagement and awareness, particularly at the grassroots level.

Mazi said the disconnect between candidates and the electorate raises concerns about informed decision-making during the elections.
One of the major contributing factors is the poor state of voter education.

He said, “RSIEC which is responsible for overseeing the electoral process, has not invested sufficient effort into educating and informing the public.

“Though the political parties themselves shares the responsibility of creating the needed awareness, the case where some parties have openly declined to participate in the election and also gone ahead with actions to stop the election from holding have put a dent on the citizen’s participation in the pre-election process,” he said.

He said civil society could also help facilitate dialogue between candidates and the electorate, creating platforms for candidates to present their manifestos and engage with potential voters directly.

He called on RSIEC and other stakeholders and participants in the coming election to place the interest of the people first and abhor any act of violence, intimidation, inducement, or manipulation of the elections to give undue advantage to anybody or party.