THE Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) said it would deploy 46,084 officials for the governorship election in Bayelsa, Kogi and Imo States on November 11.
The Commission’s chairman, Mahmood Yakubu, disclosed this at a meeting with Residents Electoral Commissioners in Abuja on Friday, October 20.
Yakubu said 11,000 observers from recognised national and international organisations would be deployed to the off-cycle election.
The INEC Chairman explained that 137,934 agents, comprising 130,093 polling and 7,841 collation agents, would be used by the 18 political parties participating in the poll.
He added that the electoral body would ensure adequate preparation for the election.
“The Commission plans to deploy a total of 46,084 regular and ad hoc staff for the election. We have so far accredited 126 national and international organisations collectively deploying 11,000 observers for the election,” Yakubu stated.
He said that although the portal for media accreditation would close on Tuesday, October 24, INEC had received applications from 80 media organisations seeking to deploy 1,203 personnel made up of journalists and technical/support staff to cover the elections.
While lamenting insecurity in the three states, Yakubu pointed out that such a large-scale deployment required a secure environment, which he said was outside INEC’s mandate.
“As we said repeatedly, we are concerned about the prevailing insecurity and election-related violence in the three states. We have been reassured of adequate deployment by the security agencies.
“On our part, we will continue to deepen our engagement with the security agencies, and more meetings are planned in the next few days.”
He noted that all non-sensitive materials for the election had been delivered to the three states, adding that other preparations, including training, were on course.
He claimed essential lessons for better performance in the upcoming elections had been learned from the February and March elections.
On October 16, The ICIR reported how the Commission raised the alarm over rising fake news and misinformation ahead of the election.
According to INEC, fake news might severely affect how the country manages its elections if not stopped early.
The ICIR had in a report presented the top candidates for the election in the three states and their chances.
A reporter with the ICIR
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