The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has called for improved synergy with various security agencies in the country during the supplementary election to be held in some states on March 23, 2019.
INEC’s National Commissioner, Information and Voter Education, Mr Festus Okoye, made the call on Monday during his appearance on Sunrise Daily, a breakfast programme on Channels Television.
“We are ready for this particular election, and we expect that things will go well,” he said.
He added, “We also expect high-level cooperation from the different security agencies that will be involved in election security so that at the end of the day, people will know that a good election has been conducted.”
The INEC official gave the assurance that the exercise would be free and fair while the results would not be interfered with.
He urged the electorate to come out and vote for the candidates of their choice, noting that only their votes would determine the outcome of the election in their areas.
Mr Okoye also called for the support of various stakeholders in the election, especially the political parties to ensure smooth process.
He, however, warned that INEC would not tolerate any form of electoral malpractice in its resolve to conduct an election that the people would be proud of.
“We want to conduct a supplementary election that Nigerian people will be proud of; we want to also conduct a supplementary election that meets the expectations of all the critical stakeholders in the electoral process,” he said.
“What we demand is that the political parties should rein in their members and also make sure that they act in accordance with laid down rules and procedures for the conduct of elections.”
The supplementary election will take place in Adamawa, Benue, Kano, Plateau and Sokoto states where the governorship poll was declared inconclusive.
