FCT polls: We’ll maintain level playing ground – INEC

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has pledged to give all contestants in the March 19 area council polls in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) a level playing ground before and during the election.

Speaking at a stakeholders meeting on the election, Resident Electoral Commissioner, (REC) for the FCT, Prof. Jacob Jatau, assured that as a body and an umpire, all political parties and candidates participating in the March 19 area council elections of level playing ground.

At the meeting, all the aspirants signed a treaty to maintain peace during and after the polls.

His words: “We have monitored the campaigns by political parties and we have noticed that elections in the territory have been peaceful in the FCT. We will require the political parties to conduct themselves for the elections to be peaceful as it has been.”

He said accreditation and voting during the elections would go on simultaneously with the use of the card reader machine, adding that the decision to adopt the modality followed its success in re-run elections conducted in some other states.

According to him, accreditation and voting would begin at 8a.m and end at 2p.m, insisting that INEC will use card readers for the election and called on FCT residents to conducts themselves well during the election as the commission had improved on the use of the card reader in FCT elections.

“On our part we will play according to the rule and we will want the voters to conduct themselves in a peaceful manner,” he pledged, adding that the commission registered about 82,000 voters during the exercise in the territory.

His words: “As a result of the exercise, we are able to get about 82,000 registrants and we are able to produce their PVCs which we are currently distributing”, and urged those who have registered to go and collect their PVCs before the March 16 deadline.

Already, the commission has approved 44 observer groups to participate in the area council elections polls. The approval came after the assessment of the initial applications submitted by the groups as contained in the completed Form EPMC 01.

Some of the groups include, Centre for Civic Education, Transition Monitoring Group, (TMG) and Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution.

According to a statement issued by the commission, the approved observer groups are to obtain, complete and return Form EPMC 002 for the elections from the Elections and Party Monitoring Department, INEC Headquarters, Maitama, Abuja between 8a.m. to 4a.m. from Monday to Friday, starting from February 24, to March 7, 2016.The commission also said the date for distribution of observer kits in the FCT area councils would be communicated in due course.

Already, FCT Commissioner of Police, Mr. Wilson Inalegwu, has promised to provide adequate security during the area council elections.

Inalegwu made the promise during an Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES) said the command has response teams that would be strategically deployed to respond to any emergency that may arise during the election.

The commissioner warned politicians and their supporters to avoid carrying firearms and machetes to campaign venues reminding them that the carrying of firearms was a serious offence in the country.

Inalegwu also warned politicians and their supporters to desist from placing posters on that of their opponents.

His words: “We want to advice you that covering other candidates’ posters is not allowed. On our part, we will do everything possible to ensure that voters freely exercise their franchise to elect candidates of their choice”, and warned that there would be no room for snatching of ballot boxes and papers as policemen would be at all polling units.

The senator representing FCT, Senator Philip Aduda urged residents to be peaceful during the elections as elections in the territory had always been peaceful and called on the police to ensure that adequate personnel were on ground to provide security during the elections.

The Ona of Abaji, Ahaji Adamu Yunusa also urged the police to deploy personnel to election venues two days before the elections for security reasons.

He also appealed to INEC to prepare adequately to avoid postponing the elections.

The high point of the meeting was the signing of a peace pact by candidates of all political parties participating in the elections.