The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has scheduled September 12 as the date for the signing of the peace accord ahead of the 2024 Edo governorship election.
The announcement was made by INEC Chairman Mahmood Yakubu during an extraordinary meeting with political parties in Abuja on Thursday.
The peace accord, to be presided over by the Chairman of the National Peace Committee (NPC) and former Head of State, Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar, is aimed at ensuring peaceful conduct during the election process.
Unlike previous elections where peace accords were signed closer to the election day, this accord is scheduled earlier to allow for monitoring of compliance by political parties, candidates, and other stakeholders.
“This is to enable the peace committee to monitor compliance with the code voluntarily signed by parties, candidates and other critical players in the electoral process, such as INEC and the security agencies, during the remaining days to the election.
“This will add further weight to the peace accord beyond mere ceremony as demanded by many observers and even some of the political actors themselves,” he stated.
Yakubu emphasized the importance of maintaining decorum and civility during campaigns, urging political parties to adhere to INEC’s guidelines for rallies and processions.
He also noted that no political party had yet submitted the dates and locations of their major campaign activities to INEC.
“We are concluding arrangements with the land and maritime transport unions for logistics.
“The printing of triplicate copies of voters’ register for each of the 4,519 polling units in Edo State is virtually completed.
“The installation and configuration of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) machines to be deployed on election day is completed. Observer accreditation tags are being produced,” he added.
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INEC has completed the installation and configuration of Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) machines and has finalized other key preparations, including the training of security personnel and the delivery of non-sensitive materials.
The commission is also working on logistics arrangements with land and maritime transport unions.
Additionally, Yakubu highlighted the compliance issues found in the digital submission of polling and collation agents by political parties, stressing that the commission would no longer revert to manual processes.
Yakubu further stated, “I want to emphasise that there will be no going back to the manual process. It is gone for good.
“Already, observer groups and media organisations are in full compliance with the digital procedure. Political parties cannot be an exception.
“We will only produce tags for uploads that meet the requirements of our regulations and guidelines.”
In response, Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC) Chairman Yusuf Dantalle urged INEC to maintain neutrality and ensure that all election materials, including the BVAS and IReV portals, are adequately prepared for the election.
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