By Roundoffnews
Stakeholders in the conduct of elections have been urged to work within the ambit of law and INEC guidelines to ensure free fair and credible governorship poll in Ekiti State.
A Lecturer at the Department of Sociology, Ekiti State University, Professor Christopher Oluwadare gave the advice in Ado-Ekiti during a Policy Dialogue on the forthcoming governorship election organised by the Electoral Institute.
Speaking on the topic “A Litmus Test for Election Administration in Nigeria Under The Dispensation of The New Electoral Act 2022” Professor Christopher Oluwadare stressed the need for stakeholders to support INEC in achieving the provisions of the Act during the coming poll.
Professor Oluwadare who is the lead speaker at the programme called on security agencies to work with INEC to guard against vote buying and shun harassment of voters, while urging civil society organizations to help the commission in sensitizing rural dwellers on effective participation in elections.
Earlier, the Director General of the Electoral Institute, Dr. Sa’ad Umar-Idris said the programme was organized as part of the commitments of INEC to achieve an electoral process in line with needs of the 21st century.
Dr. Umar-Idris, represented by the Director, Research and Documentation of the institute, Dr. Ibrahim Sani noted that the forum was also to assess impacts of new Electoral Act and examine its contributions to the conduct of a peaceful governorship election in the state.
Also, the Chairman, Board of Electoral Institute, Professor Abdullahi Zuru pointed out that the commission was reviewing its regulations, guidelines and manuals in line with the new Electoral Act.
Represented by the Resident Electoral Commissioner in Ekiti State, Dr. Adeniran Tella, Professor Zuru said the Electoral Act provides the commission with the opportunity to test and consolidate on its capacity to deploy technology for the conduct of the poll.
The policy dialogue was attended by INEC Staff, Civil Society Organizations, Security agents, market women and other stakeholders.