Investogist - Insecurity: Polls may be postponed, cancelled

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), has expressed fears that the trend of insecurity in the country if not checked, could lead to the cancellation or postponement of the forthcoming general polls.

The commission called for the level of insecurity across the country to be stemmed, noting that the development could hinder the declaration of election results which could lead to a constitutional crisis.

Chairman, Board of The Electoral Institute TEI, INEC’s training arm, Professor Abdullahi Abdu Zuru, made the observation, yesterday, in Abuja at the validation of election security training resources, Vanguard reported.

Professor Zuru said: “We all appreciate the fact that election security is vital to democratic consolidation through the provision of enabling environment for the conduct of free, fair, credible and inclusive elections and thus strengthening the electoral process.

“Consequently, in preparations for the 2023 general elections, the Commission is not leaving anything to chance in ensuring that intensive and extensive security is provided for election personnel, materials and processes.

“This is particularly significant to the Commission given the current insecurity challenges in various parts of the country and the fact that the National Youth Service Corps, NYSC, members constitute the core of the polling unit election officials.

“Moreover, if the insecurity is not monitored and dealt with decisively, it could ultimately culminate in the cancellation and/or postponement of elections in sufficient constituencies to hinder the declaration of elections results and precipitate a constitutional crisis.

This must not be allowed to happen

“This must not be allowed to happen and shall not be allowed to happen. Therefore, security personnel in particular and all elected officials in general must be security-conscious and alert to unusual activities in their environment and must be fully equipped to deal with any challenge at all times.

“To this end, the National Security Adviser, General Mohammed Babagana Monguno, and the Chairman, INEC have jointly assured the nation that a conducive environment will be provided for the successful conduct of the 2023 general election.

“Similarly, the Inspector-General of Police, IGP, Usman Baba Alkali, has conducted election security management workshops across the six geo-political zones.

“On its part, the Commission, through The Electoral Institute, has institutionalized the development and implementation of a cascaded training mechanism for security personnel as a critical component of its training plan.”

INEC is committed to using BVAS

He said the commission is committed to using the Bimodal Verification and Accreditation System (BVAS) for accreditation and voting, adding that real-time polling unit-level results will be uploaded on to the INEC Results Viewing (IReV) Portal using the same BVAS.

“These commitments require innovative security strategies and deployments for the protection of voters, election personnel, materials, equipment, the electoral processes as well as the general public and infrastructure.

“These innovative systems and processes minimize human errors and delays in results collation and improve the accuracy, transparency, and credibility of the results collation process thereby ensuring the credibility of the process.

“They were tested during the Ekiti and Osun Governorship elections, held on June 18, 2022, and July 16, 2022, respectively,” he added.