The Independent National Electoral Commission conducted
Governorship and State Houses of Assembly elections across the country on
Saturday, April 11, 2015. Governorship elections were held in 29 States of the
Federation, while State Assembly elections were held in 36 states. No election
took place in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
A general assessment shows that
the elections went very well across the country. According to preliminary
reports, 88.9 % of polling units opened for accreditation between 8 a.m. and 10
a.m. across the country. Only 5.2 % were yet to open as of 1 pm. Also, 73 % of
the polling units had commenced voting by 2.30 p.m.
The process of accreditation with Smart
Card Readers was also successful in a majority of the polling units. Initial
challenges were recorded in Edo and Abia states, but the technical teams
deployed to support the states were able to resolve the issues in a timely
manner.
Overall, many parts of the country remained
relatively peaceful during the elections. Some states, however, recorded a
significant number of violent incidents, the most affected being Rivers, Akwa
Ibom, Cross River, Ebonyi and Ondo States. INEC’s records show that there were
66 reports of violent incidents targeted at polling units, the Commission’s
officials, voters and election materials. These were in Rivers State (16
incidents), Ondo (8), Cross River and Ebonyi (6 each), Akwa Ibom (5) Bayelsa
(4), Lagos and Kaduna (3 each), Jigawa, Enugu, Ekiti and Osun (2 each),
Katsina, Plateau, Kogi, Abia, Imo, Kano and Ogun (1 each). The Commission
is investigating these incidents and will do everything within in its powers to
bring culprits to justice.
INEC commends Nigerians for once again
demonstrating their resolve and commitment to participate in the electoral
process and by doing so, contributing to deepening democracy in our country.
The Commission calls on every citizen to
maintain the peace as the results of the Governorship and State Assembly elections
are being processed, and to accept the official outcomes. It would like to
emphasize that winners can only emerge after collation of the official results
and on the basis of the requirements prescribed by the legal framework. Any
aggrieved persons or groups are encouraged to seek redress at the Tribunals.
INEC would also like to remind all
stakeholders that the process is not yet completed and urges restraint in their
comments, as we strive to bring this process to an orderly, peaceful and credible
conclusion.
Signed:
The Independent National Electoral
Commission
When News Breaks Out, We Break In. (The 2014 Bloggies Finalist)
No comments:
Post a Comment