The Independent National Electoral Commission has assured of a free, fair and transparent exercise in the forthcoming election in Ekiti State.
The Chief Press Secretary to the INEC Chairman, Mr. Rotimi Oyekanmi, told our correspondent in Abuja that the Commission had since November 2015 successfully conducted elections in 180 constituencies.
Oyekanmi said, “These include five governorship elections carried out in Kogi, Bayelsa, Edo, Ondo and Anambra states. So far, nobody has accused the commission of rigging any of these elections. All of the election results recorded so far testify to INEC’s ability to ensure that only the voters determine who wins an election.
“We wish to emphasise that it is impossible for the Commission’s officials, any individual or group for that matter, to pre-load the Smart Card Readers (SCRs) or provide ballot papers for stuffing as alleged. Indeed, the SCRs, which perform the three functions of identifying, verifying and authenticating the voter and the Permanent Voter’s Card (PVC) can only function on the Election Day.
INEC is committed to a free, fair and credible governorship election in Ekiti State on July 14
“In addition to the results sheets that we issue to party agents at the Polling Unit and at every level of collation, the Commission also deliberately introduced Form EC60E to show election results at the Polling Units, which is the most important level. This form is pasted at every Polling Unit after collation. To that extent, no INEC member of staff, no matter how highly placed, can rig an election in favour of or against any particular candidate or political party. This is as a result of the stringent processes and safeguards introduced by the Commission.”
The INEC chairman’s spokesman assured that the Commission’s staff members had been working round the clock to ensure a free and fair election in Ekiti State on July 14.
“We also wish to assure all Nigerians that INEC is committed to a free, fair and credible governorship election in Ekiti State on July 14 and, indeed, the 2019 general elections,” Oyekanmi further said.
