No alternative to peaceful elections in Edo, Ondo —INEC

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) said on Thursday there was no alternative to the peaceful conduct of governorship elections in Edo and Ondo states.

The commission will hold elections in the two states on September 19 and October 10 respectively.

The INEC National Commissioner and Chairman of Information and Voters Education Committee of the Independent Electoral Commission, Festus Okoye, who disclosed this in a chat with journalists in Benin, said failure to conduct peaceful elections in both states would cause constitutional logjam that would be difficult to resolve.

He urged political parties and other stakeholders in both states to eschew violence and use of inflammatory language ahead of the elections.

Okoye said: “Political parties and all the critical stakeholders in the electoral process must see the conduct of these elections as a national project that must be executed in strict compliance with all the safety protocols.

READ ALSO: EDO, ONDO POLLS: INEC reveals what it’ll do if politicians disrupt electoral process

“There is no alternative to the peaceful conduct of these elections as the alternative will leave the people of the two states with a constitutional logjam that may be difficult to resolve. Political parties must eschew violence.

“Political parties and their candidates must eschew the use of intemperate, inflammatory and base language designed to inflame passions or incite violence.

“On our part, we are determined and resolved to proceed with the conduct of the Edo and Ondo governorship elections and all the outstanding bye-elections. In doing so, the commission will not compromise the safety and welfare of its staff, ad-hoc staff as well as the voters. We will work closely with the security agencies to arrest threats and degrade acts of violence.”

Join the conversation

Opinions

Support Ripples Nigeria, hold up solutions journalism

Balanced, fearless journalism driven by data comes at huge financial costs.

As a media platform, we hold leadership accountable and will not trade the right to press freedom and free speech for a piece of cake.

If you like what we do, and are ready to uphold solutions journalism, kindly donate to the Ripples Nigeria cause.

Your support would help to ensure that citizens and institutions continue to have free access to credible and reliable information for societal development.

Donate Now