‘INEC Ready For Hitch-Free Elections’

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) says it has done everything within its powers to ensure that mistakes that marred the conduct of free and fair election in the past are corrected this time around.

The country, the INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) for Enugu state, Mr. Josiah Uwazuruonye, stated this Friday, while briefing the press on preparations made so far by INEC to conduct free and fair elections in the country.

According to him, Enugu state has a total of 2, 958 polling units in the 17 Local Government Areas, and distribution of non-sensitive electoral materials for the National Assembly election had commenced and would be completed on the day of the election.

The materials, he went on, were kept in Police stations in the custody of various Divisional Police Officers (DPOs), in conjunction with INEC electoral officers in all the Local Government Areas concerned.

On the duties of ad-hoc staff, Mr. Uwazuruonye revealed that professors and senior lecturers from different institutions of higher learning in the country have been assigned to INEC Headquarters in Enugu , adding that they are to serve as collation officers, as INEC staff have been banned from acting as collation officers.

“Most of the collation officers are professors and senior lecturers . We want them to show us what they are teaching in the universities”, describing distribution of electoral materials as the most important aspect of election.

 “It is no longer statutory for RECs to announce the results of governorship election. It is now the duty of INEC Chairman to appoint returning officers to do the announcement.”

Mr. Uwazuruonye commended them for exhibiting a lot of maturity since his assumption of office in the state.

While noting that the state had not recorded any form of political violence since he took over as INEC REC, Mr. Uwazuruonye urged them to continue in that respect.

He also commended the press for cooperating with him in carrying out his duties in the state, adding that the “Press men are now showing a high level of civility in carrying out their functions in the country”.

He also reiterated his earlier call on parents not to allow their children and wards to be used as thugs by unpatriotic politicians, warning that any person or group of persons caught committing any act capable of disrupting the election would be severely dealt with to serve as deterrent to others.

INEC, he said, is already compiling names of those who did double registration during the exercise, with a view to prosecuting them in accordance with the provisions of the Electoral Act.