Ekiti 2022: Yiaga Africa Rolls Out 10 Key Recommendations Ahead of Polls
- Ahead of the June 18 gubernatorial elections in Ekiti state, preparations are ongoing by various stakeholders to stage the election
- INEC who already announced the certified 16 candidates for the election will also join other stakeholders like the security agencies and observers to stage the election
- However, Yiaga Africa in its recent observation report has prompted stakeholders on some pertinent issues ahead of polls
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Ahead of the gubernatorial polls in Ekiti state slated for Saturday, June 18, Yiaga Africa’s observation team, Watching the Vote (WTV) has rolled out ten recommendations for related stakeholders including INEC.
According to the WTV report made available to Legit.ng on Monday, May 16 the group also highlighted some key findings it gathered from its observation.
Source: Twitter
As contained in the report, some of these observations were ranging from election preparatory activities by INEC, voter education by INEC, and other stakeholders, campaign activities by political parties, and indicators of voter inducement.
However, in its recommendations to the various stakeholders, Yiaga Africa dwelled more on INEC’s voter education campaign as well as urging INEC to intensify its sensitization technique to keep electorates abreast of the necessary tenets of the election process.
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The recommendations are:
INEC
1. INEC should intensify its voter education activities or programs across the state. The Commission can partner with the NOA, CSOs, and other key stakeholders to expand voter education efforts across the state. This should include targeted voter education for women, young people, and those with impairments.
2. INEC should invest in publicizing the locations of the new polling units.
3. INEC should carry out sensitization programs on the use and deployment of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS).
4. INEC should focus on training Ad’hoc staff on the use of the BVAS machine, to avoid challenges encountered in the FCT Area Council Election
National Orientation Agency (NOA)
5. The National Orientation Agency should continue to engage more in partnerships with INEC and Civil Society organizations (CSOs) for the conduct of voter education across the state. NOA should also design targeted voter education messages specifically for the marginalized groups (women, youths, and people with disabilities).
Political Parties
6. Political parties should engage more in voter education, issue-based debates and sensitization of citizens.
7. Rather than bribing and inducing voters with money and gift items, political parties and candidates should focus on issues-based campaigns.
Ekiti 2022: Yiaga Africa partners Police
In another related event, Yiaga Africa has strike a partnership understanding with the Nigerian police ahead of the Ekiti gubernatorial elections.
The Commissioner of Police in Ekiti State, CP Tunde Mobayo has said the Nigerian Police Force does not have a choice but to collaborate with Civil Society Organizations like Yiaga Africa.
He said due to the level of work they do on building early warning systems and providing information to prevent escalation of election-related violence, it will be difficult to look away.
Yiaga Africa trains, deploys observers across all LGAs for Ekiti polls
Meanwhile, Yiaga Africa has yet again intensified their preparedness to monitor the pre-election, election, and post-election activities at the Ekiti polls.
The groups says it has conducted training for 24 observers to monitor the pre-electoral and electoral proceedings of the gubernatorial election in the state.
Also, it was gathered that all 24 observers will be deployed across the 16 local government areas of the state.
Source: Legit.ng
