The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Tuesday reiterated its preparedness to conduct a free, fair and credible governorship election in Bayelsa State this Saturday.
INEC National Chairman, Prof Mohammud Yakubu, in an interview in Yenagoa said the commission has put in place the necessary arrangement to conduct credible poll despite the allegation that a party had concluded plan to rig it.
The INEC boss added that the commission will ensure that no Bayelsan voter is disenfranchised in the Saturday election.
“Whether you are living along the coastline or mainland in Bayelsa and you are a voter, you will not be disenfranchised in the coming poll. We will have a credible poll,” he declared.
On the delay in the supply of Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) to some councils in the state, Prof Yakubu said though the delay in the supply was regrettable, “the supplementary voter cards totalling 52,000 have been supplied this morning and handed over to the Resident Electoral Commissioner. And we will discuss with the stakeholders on a suitable and effective way of distribution.”
The INEC boss insisted that the commission will ensure that card readers are used during the polls and incident forms allowed where proper verification of voters is done.
“The card readers have passed all verifiable tests and challenges. We have insisted that no card reader, no voting. But where incident forms will be used, we have instructed that the voters should be verified through provision of passport photograph and it tallies with the picture on the voters card.”
-Vanguard
