A non-governmental organisation, the Nigerian Women Trust Fund (NWTF), has announced that it will deploy 100 observers to monitor the governorship elections in Kogi and Bayelsa states on Saturday. The NWTF, through its Gender and Election Watch (GEW) Room, said it will use an electronic gender-based checklist to collect data on the involvement of women and other vulnerable groups in the electoral process.
The chief executive officer of GEW Room, Brenda Anugwom, said in a statement on Friday that the data will be analysed based on the Electoral Act (2022) as amended. She said the analysis will form the basis for the GEW Room’s statements on the conduct of the election, especially on the participation of women and other vulnerable groups.
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She also said the GEW Room will observe the performance of voters, candidates, and electoral officials from a gender perspective on the election day. She said the GEW Room will assess how the election process affects all stakeholders from a gender perspective, and how the technology deployed by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and other critical stakeholders operates.
She warned that the GEW Room will not hesitate to call out any political party that engages in electoral malpractice during the election. She commended INEC’s preparedness and urged the commission to give priority voting to pregnant women, nursing mothers, the elderly and persons with disabilities in line with the Amended Electoral Act 2022.
She also called on the security agencies, such as the police, the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) and others, to arrest and prosecute anyone who commits electoral crimes and to ensure the safety of lives and property during and after the election. She appealed to the political parties and candidates to abide by the peace accords they signed and to ensure a peaceful and credible election.
She further urged the citizens of the two states to be patriotic and to prevent election violence, especially against women, during the elections.