Poll: CODER charges political parties to stop unfounded allegations against INEC

CODER 1

Bewaji (middle) addressing the press on Wednesday

Bewaji (middle) addressing the press on Wednesday

Ahead of this Saturday’s Presidential and National Assembly elections, the Coalition of Democrats for Electoral Reform, CODER, has called on political parties to refrain from making inflammatory statements and throwing unfounded accusations against the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.

CODER, at a news conference in Ikeja, Lagos, on Wednesday to present its Interim Report by its Field Election Observers on the postponed 2019 General Election
Political Parties, observed that political parties were generally prepared but must be charged to refrain from making inflammatory statements and throwing unfounded accusations against INEC.

Executive Director, CODER, Wunmi Bewaji called on all political parties to cooperate with INEC for a free, fair and peaceful election.

He said CODER’s observation few days to the postponed election showed that INEC was clearly unprepared for the election and must now do all within its power to fix the defects in its logistics chain which eventually led to the postponement of the election.

“This unpreparedness may not entirely be the fault of INEC but was perhaps also due to the late approval of their budget by the National Assembly. INEC must however review its planning and logistics and ensure that they have fallback plans in case of unforeseen challenges,” he said.

According to Bewaji, election materials started arriving at many of the states on Friday 15, 2019 with noticeable challenges in the overall logistics, saying that many voting materials were incomplete, from essential items like ballot papers and result sheets, to non-essential items like accreditation tags and official vests that INEC was supposed to give to election observers to do their work.

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“CODER election observers also noticed that there were challenges trailing the submission of lists of party agents by various political parties. We also noticed poor morale among the ad-hoc staff engaged by INEC due to the inadequate arrangements for their welfare. CODER believes that this situation should be urgently addressed as it is capable of creating room for unnecessary compromise among these critical election personnel,” he said.

On voters’ preparedness, Bewaji said its observers noted that voters turned out in many areas despite the postponement, saying this was not surprising considering the late hour of the postponement announcement, adding that voters were clearly prepared to come out in large numbers to exercise their civic duty.

“They must not be disenfranchised. Despite last week’s disappointment, INEC should find ways to restore the confidence reposed in them by the electorate so that there will not be voter apathy.

He commended security agents for keeping the peace, but said that they must provide adequate security throughout the election period, urging them to be vigilant to detect and expose those who might be trying to subvert the will of the people, adding that several unconfirmed reports of ballot papers falling into the hands of political party operatives must be investigated.

Bewaji noted that INEC had started the reconfiguration of smart card readers in most states as promised by its chairman, as the commission was also seen to be carrying out all other agenda items highlighted in the action plan presented by the chairman at the press conference on Sunday.

“In spite of the justifiable disappointment and disapproval expressed by most Nigerians in response to the election postponement, CODER believes that Nigerian voters are still committed to come out in force on the new dates. We recommend that INEC continues to grant regular updates to the public as we approach the new dates,” he said.

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