Edo 2024: INEC Urges Parties To Abide By Electoral Guidelines

Ahead of the September 21 Edo governorship election, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has urged all participating political parties to adhere to electoral guidelines. Edo Resident Electoral Commissioner, Dr. Anugbum Onuoha, emphasized this during a recent interactive session with traditional, religious, and political leaders in Benin.

Onuoha highlighted that political parties had not followed the protocol of notifying INEC about the start of their campaigns, which began on April 24. He stressed the importance of informing electoral officers at the local government level about campaign activities and urged that campaign billboards not be tampered with.

The session aimed to update stakeholders on the commission’s progress and to ensure a peaceful, free, and credible election. Onuoha assured that INEC would provide all necessary information to political parties and emphasized that the commission would maintain neutrality and fairness.

He also announced that the official voters’ register would be published on August 20 and distributed to political parties. The recruitment of election observers has been completed, and the recruitment of ad hoc staff is underway. Onuoha noted that nine of the 13 preparatory steps for the election had been accomplished, including the configuration of BVAS devices and the start of logistics arrangements.

During the session, stakeholders were informed that the Edo State Security Network would not be involved in election security, and Onuoha warned that vote buying and selling would be prosecuted as electoral offences.

Alhaji Abudulazeez Igbinidu, chairman of the Edo Council for Islamic Affairs, praised INEC’s progress but urged the commission to address issues encountered in previous elections. He also called on political parties and stakeholders to strictly follow electoral guidelines to ensure a credible and peaceful election in Edo.