Off-cycle Polls: Be Abreast With Electoral Act, Others, INEC Tells Parties

Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has asked all political parties to adhere to electoral laws and ethical practices in the upcoming off-cycle governorship elections in Kogi, Imo, and Bayelsa states.

The nation’s electoral umpire also urged political parties to carefully study the Constitution, Electoral Act, Police Act, and Public Order Act to ensure peaceful campaigns, devoid of abusive language that could harm religious, ethnic, tribal, or sectional sentiments.

The registered voters for the polls are Bayelsa State: 1,056,862, Imo State: 2,419,922, and Kogi State: 1,932654.

The chairman of INEC, Prof Mahmood Yakubu, made the appeal during a two-day capacity-building workshop for INEC press corps members, coinciding with preparations for the governorship elections scheduled for 11 November, 2023.

Yakubu stressed the media’s constitutional obligations, emphasising equal coverage for all parties and candidates.

He said the workshop’s purpose is to enhance participants’ knowledge of INEC’s processes, ensuring factual and balanced coverage.

The INEC chairman highlighted the vital role of the media in the electoral process, stressing the need for a free and vibrant press while maintaining professional and ethical standards.

He outlined the media’s responsibilities in providing information, voter education, mobilisation, and scrutinising compliance with electoral laws.

Yakubu also provided an update on the preparations for the upcoming elections, including the deployment of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) for voter authentication and result upload.

On electoral delimitation of the three states, he said, “Bayelsa State has eight LGAs, 105 Registration Areas/Wards, and 2,244. Imo State has 27 LGAs, 305 Registration Areas/Wards, and 4,758. Kogi State has 21 LGAs, 239 Registration Areas/Wards and 3,508.”

He expressed the commission’s commitment to collaborating with the INEC Press Corp and thanked the European Union for their consistent support of INEC’s work through the EU-SDGN II Programme.

Earlier, a national commissioner of INEC, Prof Kunle Ajayi, said fake news poses a serious threat to the election process in Nigeria.

He said the commission’s distasteful experience with fake news in the 2023 general elections has shown that, if not nipped in the bud, fake news can become the bane of election management in Nigeria.

“The alarming prevalence of misinformation, ‘fake news’, hate speech, and the weaponization of disinformation has become very worrisome to the Commission.

“Disinformation is used to provoke religious, political, and tribal sentiments in an already polarized society such as ours, especially, during election season, which is often the leading cause of electoral violence and uprisings.

“Elections related disinformation has become a major strategy used by nefarious individuals and groups in the political space to manipulate the general public to their advantage, regardless of the consequential effect such propaganda may have on the peace and stability of the electoral process and the country at large,” he added.