By CLEMENT NWOJI, Abuja
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has warned political parties and candidates against exceeding the limits of their funding and spending, saying that it “will pay special attention to the observance of limits.”
INEC Chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu, who was the keynote speaker at the just concluded 6th Annual Conference of the Guild of Corporate Online Publishers (GOCOP) held in Lagos, also maintained that Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) has come to stay and would be the only means of accreditation of voters in 2023 General election.
Speaking on the theme: “2023 Elections: Managing the Process for Credible Outcome” , Prof. Yakubu further warned political parties and candidates to desist from “use of innuendoes or insinuations likely to provoke a counter-reaction resulting in the breach of the peace” during campaigns.
Reiterating the commitment of INEC towards ensuring credible election and outcome in 2023, Prof. Yakubu said: ‘For this reason, the Commission has introduced many new innovations, supported by the deployment of appropriate technology, to protect the sanctity of the choice made by Nigerians at the polls ranging from voter registration to voter accreditation and result management.
“The deployment of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) with its dual fingerprint and facial biometric accreditation process has ensured that only genuine voters are accredited to vote during election. This has curtailed the incidence of multiple voting and other sharp practices associated with voter accreditation during elections. The BVAS has come to stay and will be the only means by which voters will be accredited in the 2023 General Election.
“Furthermore, the introduction of the INEC Result Viewing (IReV) Portal has made the result management procedure more transparent. Polling Unit results are now uploaded in real-time to the IReV portal for public view. This has enhanced the transparency, credibility and consequently public confidence in the outcome of elections. The IReV has come to stay and polling unit results will be uploaded to the portal in real-time in the 2023 General”
He said that the Commission would pay particular attention to the conduct of parties, candidates and their supporters.
“We will pay particular attention to peaceful campaign devoid of abusive, intemperate and slanderous language as well as the use of innuendoes or insinuations likely to provoke a counter-reaction resulting in the breach of the peace.
“Similarly, we will pay special attention to the observance of limits on party and candidate finance. I urge political parties and candidates to carefully study the provisions of the Electoral Act 2022 and familiarise themselves with their obligations as well as the penalties under the law”, he said.
The INEC Chairman appealed to the Media for continuous partnership,
saying that managing the electoral process for credible outcome is the responsibility of all.
He applauded members of GOCOP for their professional diligence and said: “GOCOP must lead a network or alliance of stakeholders to curb fake news engineered by unpatriotic individuals. Fake news is a threat to national security and all hands must be on deck to check it. Managing this process requires in part, concerted efforts.
“We have noticed that your members have so far steered clear of fake news. We urge you to do more. GOCOP should come out strongly in the battle against fake news which is clearly a challenge to the electoral process going forward. We are happy to note that you have your peer review mechanism using your leaders to regularly remind every member of the need for credible journalism.
“This is highly commendable. We urge you extend this beyond GOCOP to serve as a bulwark against the menace of fake news.”
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