Ahead of the 2019 general elections, the Independent National Electoral Commission has commenced a three-day capacity building workshop for select staff members of the commission in Ebonyi State.
The training, which kicked off at the state INEC Headquarters recently in Abakaliki, the capital, was declared open by Resident Electoral Commissioner in Ebonyi, Prof. Godswill Obioma.
The workshop was aimed at strengthening the capacity of implementers of the state Election Monitoring and Support Centre for enhanced efficiency and productivity during the 2019 general elections in the state.
In his keynote address, Obioma urged participants to pay attention to the workshop’s contents and processes as key EMSC implementers.
He added that the training was imperative for the successful implementation of the EMSC, which he noted was an innovation introduced by the commission to enhance the credibility of elections in the country.
According to him, the EMSC is an integrated support system for monitoring the implementation of the 2019 Election Project Plan, adding that it was an initiative by INEC to connect three components of the electoral processes, which previously worked independently, resulting sometimes in role conflicts.
He said, “INEC developed the EMSC to bring together the three components of the electoral processes which in 2015 worked independently.
“The three components are: election management system, election risk management and election operations support centre.
“Whereas the election operations support centre focuses on pre and post-election day, the election risk management focuses on risks, litigation, identifying flash points and areas that need more security.
“Election management system focuses on the entire election; so, all these components worked independently in 2015 and brought about role conflicts.
“They were not supporting one another and so the whole idea of EMSC is to bring these components together into one integral part for the effective conduct of the 2019 general elections.
“So, what we are doing now is to assemble the implementers, train them and equip them with the necessary capacity needed to effectively function by understanding themselves.”
The workshop, which is expected to last for three days, is being attended by the resident electoral commissioner, administrative secretary, heads of departments, electoral officers, registration area officers and EMSC designated desk officers.
One of the participants, Nweke Emmanuel, an electoral officer, said the workshop had availed him the opportunity to acquire necessary skills and knowledge, which would enable him to be efficient and effective during the forthcoming elections.