Independent National Electoral Commission has reiterated its commitment to conducting a free, fair and credible election in Ondo State on Nov. 16.

The Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in Ondo State, Mrs Oluwatoyin Babalola, gave the commitment at a Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room Dialogue Session on  Ondo State governorship  election, in Abuja on Tuesday.

Babalola said that the commission was fully aware of its duty of conducting a free and fair election in the state and had put proactive measures in place to actualise this.

She said that the state, with 18 local government areas, has a total of 2,0531,061 registered voters, adding that INEC had, as of date, distributed 61,919  permanent voter cards (PVCs).

According to her the commission has been engaging  the media to engage citizens on voter education and sensitisation in order to reduce voter apathy and build their confidence.

Babalola said that she had also held meetings with some civil society organisations and paid advocacy visits to traditional leaders to discourage youths from engaging in violent acts.

The REC added that Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) would be deployed in all the 3,933 polling units in the state, stressing that transportation arrangements and security collaboration were also in top gear.

“I wish to state that INEC in Ondo State is fully geared up for the conduct of the 2024 governorship elections scheduled to hold on Nov. 16, 2024.

“To ensure a seamless and successful electoral process, we have implemented some proactive measures, including working ahead of timelines, applying the lessons learnt from previous elections and ensuring capacity building for our staff and ad hoc staff.

“We are also engaging in intense collaboration with critical stakeholders and ensuring early opening of RAC and pulling units.

“Our resolve in the state is that polling units will open early while election officials will wait for voters and not the other way round.

“These measures demonstrate INEC’s preparedness and dedication to conducting free, fair and credible election in Ondo State. With careful planning and collaboration, the commission is poised to conduct a successful election,” she said.

According to Babalola, ccredited observers groups are expected to report any irregularity or breach of the election process without interfering in the process and procedures.

The REC, however, said that the observers could escalate issues that were critical on the election day through the INEC Situation Room hotline.

She said that a dedicated hotline would be provided to all accredited observer groups for direct reporting to the INEC situation room.

Speaking earlier, Mr Yanusa Ya’u, Convener, Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room and Executive Director, Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD), said as observers, their mission was not limited.

“Our observation is not just limited to the election day activities.

“Observation will allow us to identify areas of weaknesses, areas of challenges and call the attention of relevant agencies so that remediation can take place.

“We believe that without credible elections, democracy will itself be facing serious challenges because the confidence of people in the democratic processes will be challenged when they believe that their votes do not count.

“We are committed to doing everything possible within the limit of our resources and endowments to contribute to that process.

“For us, we see INEC as a partner in the democratisation process.

“But, we will not shy away when we see lapses and particularly, where we see lapses that consistently occur in the conduct of elections in this country.

“We hope that some of the weaknesses and lapses, and perhaps even the situation we witnessed in Edo will not repeat itself in Ondo State.

“We have confidence in the REC and all the stakeholders in the conduct of the election,” Ya’u said.

The convener, however, said that his organisation wanted to  put on record that some of the things they witnessed in Edo fell short of what they  considered to be the threshold of a free and credible election.

“We hope that lessons have been learnt from that process to make sure that the election in Ondo State will be one that we will all come and celebrate that we have got it right,” Ya’u said.

Dr Matthew Ayibakuro, Governance Adviser, U.K Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), said that the platform should be used to discuss such issues that were pertinent to the electoral system and restoration of voters’ confidence.

“We want you to  spotlight some of the issues that will potentially affect some of the outcomes of the Ondo State election, like insecurity, economic hardship and the climate, and how they affect the election.

“It is good for us to look at the issue of participation because Nigerians have become dissatisfied with how elections were re managed recently and even in time past.

“I think it is getting to a point where people are removed or indifferent in issues of election. We don’t want a repeat of some of those things in the event past in Ondo

“We want to see an election where we can hold up our chest and it is an election that is free, fair and credible at the end,” he said.

Ayibakuro assured the gathering of FCDO’s non-interference  and support in such initiatives that would support the systems like INEC and security agencies to ensure credible and fair election.(NAN)