ASATTAHIR International Foundation attended Final Briefing and Stakeholders’ Meeting ahead of the February 16 General Elections:
As part of its preparation for a hitch free elections in Sokoto state, the Resident Commissioner of INEC, on Thursday, 14th February, 2019 briefed representatives of security agencies, CSOs, NGOs and traditional leaders as to the level of preparedness of the commission for a free, fair and credible elections in the state.
In his remarks, the REC gave statistics of registered voters and number PVCs collected and the outstanding yet to be claimed. He also assured the gathering of the commission’s arrangements on logistics and manpower. He dismissed the insinuations by groups and individuals that the umpire is in some ways partisan. He cleared the air on those categories of security agencies that are to be involved in elections. Basically, he suggested that the military will not participate in the elections.
Stakeholders in the meeting raise concerns and reservation’s on the forthcoming elections.
Specifically, the representative of ASATTAHIR Foundation, Abdulsalam Sidi Attahiru, emphasised the need for INEC, security agencies and other stakeholders to pay serious attention to the scourge of vote buying, arguing that its widespread is likely to undermine the credibility and peacefulness of the electoral process. The security agencies and INEC responded to various observations and assured the stakeholders of their commitment to uphold the principles of integrity and fairness in the conduct of the elections.
More photos below:
