INEC DESCRIBES MEDIA COVERAGE OF 2019 ELECTIONS AS ROBUST

The 2019 general election has come and gone.  The successes and challenges recorded during the elections and recommendations formed the basis of discussion at a one- day Forum on the 2019 Elections jointly organized by the Nigeria Union of Journalists NUJ and the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC in Enugu.

Declaring the event open, the INEC National Commissioner and Chairman Information and Voter Education Committee, Mr. Festus Okoye identified too many political parties as part of the challenges the Commission encountered in the conduct of this year’s general election.

Mr. Okoye stated that numerous registered political parties made the ballot paper clumsy.

He admitted that announcement of the rescheduling of the Presidential and National Assembly elections came very late but debunked the insinuations in some quarters that it was orchestrated by external influence.

The INEC National Commissioner described media coverage of the 2019 elections as robust

The INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner, Enugu State, Dr. Emeka Ononamadu attributed some of the setbacks witnessed during the elections to lack of electricity in many rural areas.

In an address, the President, Nigeria Union of Journalists NUJ, Comrade Chris Isiguzo described the media as a unique stakeholder in the conduct of free, fair and credible elections.

Comrade Isiguzo commended the co-operation between INEC and NUJ which he said contributed to the success recorded during the 2019 elections.

Participants in the event were drawn from seventeen States of Southern Nigeria.

 Most of them stressed the need to reduce political parties in the country to a manageable size, training and retraining of journalists, as well as enhancing their welfare package for optimal performance.

EZINWANNE OKWUOLISA