Gyang Bere, Jos
The National Chairman of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Yakubu Mahmood has said that the commission is ready to assist states electoral commission to conduct free, fair and credible council using Smart Card Readers.
Yakubu disclosed this yesterday, during the 12th Delegates Conference of Forum of States Independent Electoral Commission of Nigeria (FOSIECON), held in Jos, Plateau State.
“The independent national electoral commission will support state independent electoral commissions that signify their intension to deploy the smart cards reader, SCR, in the conduct of local government elections.”
Represented by the National Commissioner, Information and Voter Education, Festus Okoye, the chairman said the commission was working toward reviewing areas where it had challenges during the last elections to perfect future polls.
He attributed electoral violence witnessed during the polls to inconsistencies of political parties in presenting candidates to the electoral body.
“Refusal of political parties to abide by and respect the constitution of their parties, nomination processes and the resort to litigation by aggrieved aspirants and candidates affected the conduct of the elections.”
He lamented that late release of funds to the commission toward conducting any election is detrimental to credible polls.
Plateau State Governor Simon Lalong, who declared the event open, lamented that electoral malpractice had made citizens lose confidence in governance.
