….warns against votes harvesting, result writing
From Jeff Amechi Agbodo, Onitsha
The International Society For Civil Liberties And Rule Of Law (Intersociety) in Conjunction with South-East based coalition of democracy and Human Rights Organizations ( SBCDHROs) has warned the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) against vote harvesting and result writing but should conduct free, fair and credible election in Imo State November 11 governorship election.
It noted that from every indication, it’s difficult for Intersociety and SBCDHROs to be convinced that the Commission was genuinely organizing free, fair, secured and credible Governorship Election for the long suffering and peace loving people of Imo State, saying that instead, it is easily convincing and may likely to be correct to say that Nigeria’s INEC is planning to ‘harvest and write results’ for the incumbent in the State.
The Chairman of Intersociety Mr. Emeka Umeagbalasi flanked by other human rights activists in a press conference held in Enugu titled “Nov 11 (2023) Imo Governorship Poll: Is INEC Truly organizing free, fair, secured and credible election or planning to harvest and write results for the incumbent?” demanded for the immediate transfer of Imo state Resident Electoral Commission (REC) and other electoral officers and bring new officers to conduct free and fair elections.
The rights group said that it must not be hurriedly forgotten and that the January 14, 2020 Nigeria’s Supreme Court verdict that installed Hope Uzodinma as ‘Imo Governor’ remotely originated from ‘harvested results’ from 311 polling units in the State where voting either did not take place or was canceled as a result of widespread violence and gross malpractices in the State’s April 2019 Governorship Election.
“Our Interest is restoration of sanctity of the ballot Box and protection of Imo voters. Our priceless interest in Imo State is purely borne out of desire to have decency and sanctity of the Ballot Box restored and Imo voters and their properties secured and protected again in the State after the January 14, 2020 Nigeria’s Supreme Court verdict that installed Hope Uzodinma as Governor.
“To this end, Imo voters must be protected and allowed to freely vote for Governorship Candidates of their choice on Nov 11, 2023 and their ‘living votes’ and properties protected. Apart from ensuring their security and safety, the voting routes and environments and their residences and sensitive voting materials including result sheets (.i.e. FormEC8As) must also be secured and subversive elements within the security forces including deployed soldiers, police crack squads and ‘Ebubeagu killer militias’ and all armed non state criminal entities stopped from wrecking more havocs.
“The restoration of sanctity of the ballot box in Imo; corrupted and bastardized following the January 14, 2020 Supreme Court judgment; is capable of ending the ongoing mass murders and property destructions that have ravaged the State since January 2021-leading to unlawful killing by drafted security forces and armed non state actors of combined total of over 2000 unarmed and defenseless citizens and wanton destruction of more than 1,600 civilian houses and tens of thousands of other “non military necessity” properties.
“We are watching DIG Frank Mba and Imo Police anti cult and IRT Tiger Base commanders. Clusters of critics and observers have expressed deep fears over the age long closeness of DIG Frank Mba and Gov Hope Uzodinma and its possible negative effects capable of undermining the safety, popularity and credibility of the Nov 11, 2023 Imo Governorship Election. This is even as DIG Frank Mba is in a verge of being drafted to Imo State to supervise the Poll. DIG Mba’s closeness with Gov Uzodinma has been pointed out by critics to have dated back to the former’s service days at the Anti Fraud Unit at Milverton, Lagos State.
“Major steps Imo Governorship State candidates and their parties must insist that INEC must be impartial and non partisan in posting of EOs, AEOs, Supervisors, etc and their deployment to LGAs, wards and polling units
“Deploy accredited trained and uncompromised agents to polling units across Imo State especially the INEC designated 4,720 POs and 305 electoral wards and 27 Local Government Areas
“Pay much attention to physical component of the polling units’ result sheets or ‘FormEC8As’ than electronic results transmission component and insist on their mandatory availability at all the designated polling units on Election Day
“Ensure that original results are duly tabulated and entered on polling units’ FormEC8As and duly signed by all the accredited party agents and designated security personnel and INEC accredited others
“Ensure that duly signed polling units’ FormEC8As are physically gathered and duly submitted and stored accordingly.
“Reject results that are not duly entered on valid polling units’ FormEC8As and voting and results that are not accompanied with blank FormEC8As before voting
“Ensure that electronically uploaded results are in tandem with those duly entered on polling units’ FormEC8As
“Strictly monitor all the polling units where election did not take place or was cancelled as a result of widespread violence or gross malpractices so as to thwart or scuttle post poll or poll day secret harvesting and writing of results from them
“Monitor the movements around Owerri Government House and its annexes and country homes of the State’s top public office holders so as to scuttle possible ‘writing or harvesting’ of fake results through crooked and criminal INEC officials.
” Insist that INEC must publicly disclose the names and locations of those polling units where election will not take place or where results were canceled as a result of widespread violence or gross malpractices
“Make maximum use of press conferences and written representations to ensure that all of the above are generally checkmated and exposed including riggers, rigging and its aiders and abettors.
“Must shun vote-buying, voter intimidation and suppression and Election Day violence.
“Must insist on lawful and popular voting and generation of credible results and totally reject “dead and robotic votes or results”.
“Must publicly expose corrupt and compromised INEC officials, whether substantive or ad hoc; and senior security officers and their field personnel undermining the Imo’s Nov 11, 2023 Governorship Poll” the group stated.