The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), has signed a peace accord with political parties in Bayelsa State ahead of the forthcoming elections.
Chairmen of all the registered political parties, traditional rulers, security agencies, religious leaders, civil societies and Non-governmental organisations were all present at the event.
The Resident Electoral Commissioner in Bayelsa State, Dr Emmanuel Alex Hart, who spoke, said, “This action will demonstrate to their followers and supporters that irrespective of differences in their political views and inclinations they are first Bayelsans and elections will come and go, but Bayelsa will remain.
“At the moment, we are left with just two (2) out of fourteen (14) activities. They are the suspension of campaigns by political parties twenty-four (24) hours before the election and casting of ballots on election day. In the course of our preparations and execution of the activities, the Commission has constantly engaged stakeholders to keep them abreast of the progress made as it works tirelessly to deliver on its mandate as enshrined in the Constitution, strictly guided by the Electoral Act 2022, as well as its Guidelines.”
Hart added that the duty of conducting free, fair, peaceful, transparent and credible elections that is acceptable to all, is a task that INEC cannot achieve without the cooperation and active participation of all stakeholders.
He said the activities of political parties from the moment the election timetable is published give a clue to how the political space will be before, during and after the elections.
According to Hart, If deliberate efforts are not made to check the excesses of some key players in the process the credibility and peace required for the success of the elections may be greatly compromised or outrightly jeopardised.
He also disclosed that INEC recently conducted a mock trial of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) in 12 polling units in the three (3) Senatorial Districts and it was successful.
“We just concluded the training of SPOs, POs and APOs. The movement of non-sensitive electoral materials to the various Local Government Areas is ongoing,” he added.
