SHUN VIOLENCE, DON’T LOSE CONFIDENCE IN INEC — IMO REC BEGS
REPORTER: CHINAZO ILECHUKWU
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has appealed to stakeholders in elections in Imo State to shun violence and avoid unnecessary interference with the conduct of supplementary elections slated for this Saturday in the state.
The INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner in the state, Professor Sylvia Agu, made the appeal in Owerri during a meeting with representatives of political parties and security agents ahead of the elections.
She lamented that the last elections in the state were characterized by violence, abduction of INEC officials, disruption of collation and non delivery of election materials to polling units in some parts of the state.
Professor Agu appealed to the people of the state not to lose confidence in the commission as measures were being taken to address their concerns.
On the Nwangele/Nkwerre/Isu/Njaba House of Representatives seat election which is still pending, the Resident Electoral Commissioner said she received a directive from INEC headquarters Abuja to suspend declaration of result of the election for the constituency until the determination of a pending issue.
Some of the stakeholders, who spoke at the event, called on the Commission to address security lapses witnessed during the March 18 election in the state and ensure that only results that correspond with the bimodal voter accreditation system (BIVAS) were collated after the poll.
Supplementary elections will be held in one federal constituency and three State House of Assembly constituencies in Imo State.
EDITED BY CHUKWUBUIKE MADU
