A civil society organisation, Yiaga Africa, has announced plans to deploy 272 observers across the 16 local government areas of Ekiti State ahead of the June 20 governorship election.
The Head of Knowledge Management and Learning at Yiaga Africa, Safiya Bichi, disclosed this in Ado-Ekiti during a Civil Society and Media Roundtable discussion.
Bichi said the organisation would deploy 250 stationary observers across 250 sampled polling units, as well as 22 roving observers who would move from one polling unit to another.
She explained that the observers would monitor the deployment of sensitive election materials, voting processes, vote counting, collation and results management.
Speaking on the purpose of the engagement, Bichi said the programme was organised to foster collaboration among stakeholders ahead of the election and identify critical areas requiring intervention.
READ ALSO: INEC Announces 1,059,360 Registered Voters For Ekiti Gov Election
She also called on political parties, including the All Progressives Congress (APC), Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and other contenders, to conduct their campaigns and participate in the election peacefully.
Her words: “Yiaga Africa will deploy 250 stationary observers to sampled polling units across the 16 local government areas of the state. We will also observe collation processes at the local government and state levels.
“In addition, we will deploy 22 roving observers across all the local government areas. Our observers will monitor the deployment of sensitive materials to Registration Area Centres (RACs), opening of polls, voting, counting, collation and result management processes.
“For INEC, our message is to be professional and improve on logistics. The commission must ensure proper implementation of the Electoral Act and its guidelines.
“For security agencies, we expect professionalism, neutrality and adequate protection for voters, election officials, observers, journalists and political actors throughout the electoral process.
“Political parties should shun violence and encourage their supporters to do the same. Elections are not a do-or-die affair. Citizens must be allowed to participate freely and peacefully.
“Our message to voters, especially young people, is to come out and vote. If you do not vote, someone else will decide on your behalf. We must reject the narrative that votes do not count.
“If votes did not count, politicians would not be interested in buying them. People should vote according to their conscience and contribute to strengthening democracy.”
On his part, the Chairman of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Ekiti State Council, Kayode Babatuyi, pledged that the union would intensify efforts to combat fake news and clamp down on quack journalists during the election period.
Babatuyi, who commended Yiaga Africa for organising the pre-election engagement, described the media as a critical stakeholder in ensuring a transparent and credible electoral process.
He urged journalists to uphold the ethics of the profession and use their platforms responsibly in the interest of democracy.
Also speaking, the Executive Director of Disability Not A Barrier Initiative (DINABI), Olajide Funsho Benjamin, called on Persons With Disabilities (PWDs) to shun voter apathy and come out in large numbers to vote for candidates of their choice.
