The Civil Society Situation Room has called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to reinforce the usage of its result viewing portal to guarantee transparency in the Edo gubernatorial election.
Mr Clement Nwankwo, Convener of the Situation Room, a coalition of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) made the call at a news conference on Tuesday in Abuja .
Nwankwo commended INEC’s trial of the portal where voters could see their polling unit level results within few hours of voting.
“Situation room welcomes INEC’s trial of a portal where voters and the public at large can see the polling unit level results online within hours of voting.
“We have seen the poll at the weekend for the Nasarawa State Assembly where voters and observers were able to view polling results from online the same evening that the election held.
“This is a significant step forward for transparency in Nigeria elections that should be reinforced and applied rigorously in upcoming polls in Edo and Ondo state.
“This proves that it is possible for every voter to have better access to the record of what has happened in their polling unit,” the convener said.
He also urged INEC to ensure strict adherence to its guidelines for the conduct of the election and clearly map out punitive measures for election stakeholders who flout the commission’s COVID-19 guidelines.
According to him, the group will be deploying 300
election observers each to monitor the elections in Edo and Ogun.
He advised security agencies to be non partisan before, during and after the elections, abide by INEC’s code of conducts and rules of engagement for security personnel on electoral duty.
Nwankwo urged political actors to play by the rules, focus on campaign based issues and avoid utterances that could cause violence.
Nwankwo called on President Muhammadu Buhari to take positive action on the security service chiefs due for retirement.
He decried the economic and security state of the nation, adding that on daily basis, communities, villages and towns were attacked by bandits, insurgents and terrorists with less response from security services.
Nwankwo also pleaded with the government to implement measures that would restore citizens confidence in its ability to govern the nation.
