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The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) says it has achieved more than 87 per cent readiness for the upcoming North Senatorial District by-election in Enugu State.
INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner in Enugu State, Chukwuemeka Chukwu, disclosed this in an interview on Wednesday with the News Agency of Nigeria, ahead of the June 20 by-election.
According to Chukwu, non-sensitive election materials have been sorted and are being distributed to the commission’s offices across the six local government areas that make up the senatorial district. He said the materials would subsequently be moved to INEC Registration Area Centres.
“We are sending the non-sensitive materials today (June 3) to our council area offices involved, and by Thursday (June 4), the non-sensitive materials will be further moved to INEC’s Registration Area Centres (RACs),” he said.
The commissioner also said all Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) devices designated for the election had been configured and fully charged to ensure a smooth voting process.
He added that the commission had completed stakeholder engagements at the state, senatorial district, and local government levels, noting that the meetings attracted significant participation and provided stakeholders with an opportunity to seek clarification on issues related to the by-election.
Chukwu disclosed that four political parties are expected to participate in the poll. However, he said the parties would not be officially named until INEC headquarters approves reports from the primary elections monitored by the commission.
“Why I will not mention the political parties yet is that we are waiting for our headquarters’ approval of the report written on the parties’ primaries conducted,” he said.
He further revealed that training for election officials is scheduled to begin on Friday as preparations enter the final stage.
The REC also said INEC would soon hold consultations with the police and other security agencies to coordinate measures to protect election personnel, voters, and electoral materials during the exercise.
INEC had earlier fixed June 20 for the by-election and released the official timetable and notice for the poll on May 21.
