Group Urges INEC To Create More Polling Units

A Coalition of Accredited Domestic Election Observers for Kogi governorship election has called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to create more polling units across the country.

The coalition made the call during a press briefing on its preliminary findings on the state election in Abuja.

Mr Valentine Ejeh, National Coordinator the organisation’s Peace Campaign, said that the coalition comprised 12 non-governmental organisations that deployed a total of 600 observers across the three senatorial zones for the Kogi Governorship/Kogi West Senatorial election.

He said that more polling units were important for easy voting that would encourage more voters to turn out in future elections.

He also called on INEC to improve in the areas of sensitisation and voter education that would reduce voter apathy.

“We also observed the delineation in some area visited was not properly done to the interest of the electorate as some of the voters have to trek kilometres before they could cast their votes,” he said.

He recommended that the introduction of simultaneous voting and accreditation should be upheld and sustained by INEC.

Ejeh, who condemned cases of violence during the election, called on INEC to cancel elections in those polling units where there were cases of snatching of ballot papers/boxes, violence and disruption of the exercise.

He also urged security agencies to ensure that all likely illegal arms and ammunition used during the Saturday’s election in the state were mopped up for national security.

Ejeh also stressed the need to ensure that perpetrators of electoral violence in the state were prosecuted to restore the hope of the common man.!

He said that the coalition also received a total of 127 incident reports, including snatching and stuffing of ballot boxes, vote-buying/bribery and accreditation of people without using card readers, among others.

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He called on the international communities including the European UnionU, British High Commission, U.S. Embassy and others, to impose a travel ban on the perpetrators of electoral violence in the state election.

He said that the details of observations and recommendations by the observers would be captured in their reports to be submitted to INEC