INEC to Political Parties: Comply with digital upload, campaign regulations

The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has warned political parties to he meeting, which took place on Thursday, August 29, 2024, was convened to he meeting, which took place on Thursday, August 29, 2024, was convened to discuss final preparations for the upcoming election scheduled for Saturday, September 21, 2024.

At an extraordinary meeting with political parties, INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, with the digital upload of polling agents and adhere to campaign regulations ahead of the Edo State governorship election.

The Chairman of INEC, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, disclosed this during an extraordinary meeting with political parties held at the Commission’s headquarters in Abuja, where the commission insisted that the digital procedure for agent accreditation is non-negotiable and warned parties against flouting campaign regulations.

“We will not go back to the manual process. It is gone for good. Political parties must comply with the digital procedure for agent accreditation,” Yakubu said.

He emphasized that only digitally uploaded polling agents will be accredited and issued tags, stressing that the Commission will not revert to manual submission.

“We will only produce tags for uploads that meet the requirements of our regulations and guidelines. The Commission is determined that your agents at Polling Units and Collation Centres must be identified by name and their photographs clearly printed on their accreditation tags,” Yakubu added.

He also urged political parties to maintain decorum and civility in their campaigns, reminding them to submit their campaign schedules to the Commission for better coordination.

“Let me urge you to continue to maintain decorum and civility in your campaigns and fully comply with the Commission’s Regulations and Guidelines for the conduct of rallies and processions,” Yakubu said.

The INEC Chairman also expressed concern over the low rate of collection of Permanent Voters Cards (PVCs) in Edo State, urging political parties to mobilize their supporters to collect their PVCs.

“We appeal to political parties to mobilize their supporters to collect their PVCs. The collection of PVCs is critical to the success of the election,” Yakubu said.

In his response, the Chairman of the Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC), Dr. Leonard Nzenwa, commended INEC for its efforts to ensure a credible election in Edo State.

He said, “As leaders of political parties, this is our chance to restore confidence in the electoral process by ensuring the sanctity of the ballot box, and respect the mandate of the people. After 25 years of uninterrupted democracy in Nigeria, we must get it right this time.”

“The Edo State gubernatorial polls will be a litmus test for the Ondo State governorship election scheduled for Saturday 16th November 2024, which in turn gives direction to future elections in the country.”

“…IPAC urges political parties and their candidates to imbibe issue-based campaigns that will unite the people and foster development and sustainable democracy. There is no place for politics of bitterness and violence that has impeded the nation’s hard earned democracy.”

“It is time to change the narrative. It is time for patriotism. It is time to strengthen, deepen and advance our democracy.”

“The good people of Edo State are willing to come out en masse and vote for their next governor if the environment is conducive and their votes will count in the overall result. That is where the challenge is, and where IPAC will collaborate with other stakeholders including INEC – the electoral umpire, security agencies, election observers and the media to ensure that all votes are counted and reflect the wish of the electorate.”

“The success of the election will drastically reduce post-election litigations and reinforce trust and confidence in the electoral process, thus, bolster voter turnout.”

“…IPAC will continue to intervene in crucial national issues as we strive to build a better society.”

“To further enhance the nation’s representative governance, political parties should adhere strictly to internal democracy as provided in their respective constitution. We must live and lead by example.”

“It is obvious that the failure to comply with parties’ constitutions is the remote cause of crises, leadership disagreements, factionalizations and litigations that have retarded the development of party politics in Nigeria.”

“…IPAC and the Chartered Institute of Forensics and Certified Fraud Investigators of Nigeria (CIFCFIN) signed a Memorandum of Understanding with a view to verifying and authenticating aspirants’ certificates before they contest primaries of their political parties.”

“We must do everything possible to renew citizens’ faith in the political process. This is our chance to build an enduring democracy and make Nigeria great again.”