The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has assured Nigerians of a credible and transparent governorship election in Anambra State, promising that there will be “no BVAS failure or glitches this time.”
INEC’s Supervising National Commissioner, Ken Ukeagu, gave the assurance on Friday during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today.
He said the Commission had concluded all logistics and technical preparations ahead of the Saturday poll.
According to him, all materials and personnel have been deployed to their respective Registration Area Centres (RACs), and everything is set for a smooth exercise.
“The mandate is to go and give Nigerians, and Anambra people in particular, fair, credible and inclusive elections, and that is what we are going to do tomorrow,” he stated confidently.
Ukeagu explained that the Commission had taken extra measures to avoid the problems that marred previous elections, including delays in material delivery and BVAS malfunctions.
“There will be no glitches, no technical problems. Materials will arrive early, men will arrive early at the polling units, and we are going to give Anambra people credible elections tomorrow,” he assured.
He also confirmed that INEC was ready for any outcome, including a possible runoff, in accordance with electoral laws. “We are preparing for a runoff. You know, as a Commission, it’s part of the law, where no candidate meets the requirement of the law, we will certainly go for a runoff,” Ukeagu said.
Anambra, one of the politically vibrant states in the Southeast, has been at the center of attention ahead of the vote.
Campaigns have been intense, with security agencies and election observers putting final touches to their operations to ensure a peaceful exercise.
Ukeagu further noted that all sensitive and non-sensitive materials were moved to the local government areas on Thursday and distributed to the RACs across the state.
“The materials are already at the RACs. We moved them to the local government areas yesterday. Most of the RACs have been activated. Vehicles have been delivered, and we are set. Tomorrow morning, we will just move them to the polling units and wait for the Anambra people to come and vote,” he added.
However, INEC is facing mounting pressure from Nigerians to guarantee a free and fair election after technical challenges marred earlier polls, most especially as the New INEC Chairman Amupitan is about to conduct his first election since his appointment in October.