Victor EzejaFOLLOWING the outcome of activities in the ongoing governorship election in Anambra State, CLEEN Foundation, a Not for profit Non governmental organisation has urged Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to look into the challenges it has encountered in the voting process and adequately address them for a hitch-free polls and credible results.
The foundation in a statement issued on Saturday signed by the Acting Executive Director, Ruth Olofin, said its Election Security Support Centre (ESSC) in collaboration with Police Service Commission (PSC) and People’s Gazette have monitored the governorship election and conduct of security agencies deployed to various parts of the state for exercise.
The foundation said it observed large turn out of voters in various polling units across the state who were eager to cast their votes.
However, it observed late arrival of electoral materials, INEC officials, security officers and late commencement of voting in most Local Government Areas in the state, keeping the voters waiting. The observer group mentioned places like Anambra East, Ekwusigo and Ihiala LGAs.
They group said the observed glitches in the performance of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) in certain polling units were due to factors like poor internet connectivity, lack of facial recognition and authorization of fingerprints, with a few of the hitches also linked to errors during the voters registration exercise.
The observer group said it tracked and documented issues about the election across the state through its 21 observers accredited by INEC, deployed across polling units who used the foundation’s mobile application called the CLEEN Mobile App to report issues in their respective areas of observation.
On the issue of safety and conduct of security operatives, the group said the officers appeared professional and civil in their approach to voters and there was general feeling of safety across the state during the day.
“Reports from our observers showed 64.7% of the security personnel at the polling units were approachable, 17.6% of these were very approachable by their disposition while 5.9% were observed to be somewhat approachable.
“CLEEN observed 76.4% of the polling units were seen to be safe and secured for voters at all polling units visited by our observers,” CLEEN Foundation said.
It also observed that there is poor welfare of security operatives deployed for like Nigeria Police Force, which it said affects their work output .”We observed that security personnel deployed to the state especially the Nigeria Police Force were poorly remunerated.”
The group implored the citizens to be patient with the process.
Victor Ezeja is a passionate journalist with six years of experience writing on economy, politics and energy. He holds a Masters degree in Mass Communication.
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