INEC implemented many recommendations on 2019 general elections – Yakubu

The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, said on Wednesday many of the 178 recommendations made by domestic and international observers on the 2019 general elections had been implemented.

Yakubu disclosed this at the commission’s meeting with the European Union Election Observation Follow-up Mission led by the Head of EU Observation Mission, Mrs Maria Arena, in Abuja.

He said INEC undertook a comprehensive review of the election reports by domestic and international observers immediately after the 2019 general election.

The INEC chairman said: “From the review, we identified 178 recommendations. We then categorised them into three areas for the purpose of implementation.

“We have gone ahead to implement many of the recommendations that require administrative action by the commission, while working with the National Assembly on areas that require legislative action by way of amendments to the Electoral Act and the constitution.”

He noted that the EU Observation Mission made 30 recommendations out of which 11 concerned INEC directly.

Yakubu added: “Three of them were identified as priority recommendations while 8 were categorised as general.

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“The priority recommendations include the improvement of organisational and operational capacity of the commission as well as the management of election outcome, particularly the availability and public access to results from polling units and collation centres.

“Since 2019, we have made progress, including the creation of a new Gender and Inclusivity Department, as well as the Litigation and Prosecution Department.

“We have similarly expanded voter access to polling units for the first time in 25 years by converting the erstwhile 56,872 Voting Points and Voting Point (Settlements) into polling units and relocation of some of them from congested locations to unserved and under-served locations, bringing the total number of polling units to 176,846.

“We must admit that in many states. We are struggling to achieve a more balanced distribution of voters to polling units.

“However, this is a priority project for the commission which will be accomplished before the 2023 general elections.”

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