By EMMANUEL OLONIRUHA

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) says it will suspend the Edo and Ondo governorship election process if the actions of political actors led to a breakdown of law and order.

Mr Festus Okoye, INEC National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee, announced this on Thursday in Abuja after a meeting where stakeholders deliberated on a number of issues, including preparations for the elections.

Okoye said that the commission had observed with deep concern, the escalating levels of violent actions and incendiary statements by political parties, candidates and their supporters, in the run up to the elections.

“These actions include destruction of opponents’ campaign materials such as billboards, violent campaigns and use of offensive language.

“It is important for political parties, candidates and their supporters to keep in mind that there are extant laws and regulations that must be adhered to, during campaigns.

“The commission will not shirk its responsibility to enforce the rules of the game.

“Consequently, parties and candidates must, on no account, underestimate the resolve of the commission to enforce the rules and regulations and apply appropriate sanctions against those who choose to break them.

“The commission remains determined to conduct peaceful elections in the two states and in the outstanding National and State Assembly bye-elections.”

Okoye said that political parties must realise that Edo and Ondo governorship elections were taking place at a time of a global pandemic and the commission was working assiduously to observe and comply with all health and safety protocols issued by the commission and health authorities.

He said that with the pandemic taking its toll on the citizenry, the people of Edo and Ondo states must be saved from the added burden of violent and raucous elections.

“Political parties must remember that Edo and Ondo governorship elections have strict constitutional and statutory timelines and threats of violence or actual violence can disrupt those timelines and create a constitutional crisis.

“The commission will continue to engage stakeholders in the two states on the need for free, fair, safe and peaceful elections, given that it has committed enormous public resources in preparing for them.

“The commission will view gravely, any disruptive actions by political actors,” he warned.

Okoye said that the commission would work with, and collaborate with the security agencies to contain incidents or threats of violence before and during the elections.

“Regulatory agencies with roles in the elections, especially those dealing with insecurity, hate speech and abuse of mass media, must step up their activities and ensure that people caught breaking the law were held to account,” he said.

The commission reassured the people of Edo and Ondo of its determination to conduct credible and safe elections in the two states, and urged residents to support the process.

Meanwhile, INEC has introduced a dedicated public election result viewing portal, known as “The INEC Result Viewing (IReV)”.

The commission said IRev would enable Nigerians to view polling unit results in real time as voting ends on election day.

The commission announced this in a statement on Thursday, issued by Okoye after its meeting held in Abuja.

The INEC National Commissioner said that the commission at the meeting, approved the introduction of a new step to further strengthen its election management process and enhance transparency of the system.

He disclosed that the innovation would begin from the Nasarawa Central State Constituency bye-election in Nasarawa State, holding on Saturday.

“To further strengthen the transparency in the election result management system, the commission has decided to introduce a dedicated public portal, IReV that will enable Nigerians to view polling unit results real time as the voting ends on election day.

“The commission wishes to emphasise that this does not constitute electronic collation of results.

“The collation of election results shall remain as provided for by law, a manual process of completion of relevant result sheets and their upwards collation until the final results are determined.

“This innovation will begin from the Nasarawa Central state constituency bye-election.

“Thereafter it will be extended to the Edo and Ondo State governorship elections as well as all subsequent elections.

“The commission hopes that this innovation will improve the transparency in election result management and therefore further consolidate public confidence in the electoral process,” he said.

Okoye said that the commission was aware that result management had remained a major source of mistrust in our electoral process.

“Citizens are often concerned, and sometimes rightly so, that results may not always be consistent with votes cast.

“INEC is determined to address any source of this concern through enhancing the level of transparency in the conduct of elections, more so in the process of releasing results of elections.

“It is a fundamental principle of democracy that in elections, votes are not only correctly counted, but that they also count,” he further said.

Okoye recalled that consistent with its commitment to transparency in election management, the commission introduced the Form EC60E, which was a poster version of the primary result sheet, the Form EC8A.

“This replica of the polling unit result is pasted at the polling units after votes are counted, recorded and announced.

“This poster, now widely known as the People’s Form EC8A, has increased transparency in result management.

“The form enables the citizens to photograph the results and project the outcome of elections, even before the final results are announced.

“Unfortunately, this has also led to abuses, as unofficial and at times false results are known to have been circulated, particularly via social media, causing tension and casting aspersions on the final outcome of elections,” he said.

He disclosed that for the Nasarawa Central state constituency election, the result sheet could be accessed by visiting https://inecelectionresults.com

“Click on Create new Account? Fill in your details in the form provided and click on Sign in and provide your state of origin and click on Continue”

“An account activation email is sent to the email address provided in the form.

“Check your email and correctly copy out the activation code which will be entered into the textbox provided on the portal.

“Then click on Activate. This logs you into the portal and you can select the Election which PU results you are interested in viewing,” he explained.

Okoye, who said that people could use the filter buttons to make the search easier, urged the public to remember to log out of the portal after use.

“The commission appeals to the public to make judicious use of this facility and looks forward to continuing to work with stakeholders to improve the quality of electoral services in our country,” he said. (NAN)

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