Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Prof. Attahiru Jega, has promised to make the November 16 gubernatorial election in Anambra State, "the best so far", at least to justify the commission's determined efforts at reforming the electoral system. Jega made the commitment yesterday at a meeting he held with stakeholders on preparations towards the election.
The meeting was attended by chairmen of political parties, including national chairman of Labour Party, LP, Mr. Dan Wanyanwu and Chief Victor Umeh of All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA.
While stressing INEC's preparedness to deliver free, fair and credible governorship election in Anambra, Jega however, noted that "INEC cannot succeed without the cooperation and partnership of all stakeholders, especially political parties, their candidates and the people of Anambra State."
To this end, Jega charged all contending parties in the election, not to renege on the "revalidation" and renewal of the code of conduct for political parties, which took place a few days ago in Minna, the Niger State capital.
"All the key aspects of the document (code of conduct) must be demonstrably put into practice: respectable and responsible conduct by all parties, candidates and their supporters," Jega admonished.
In a related development, INEC has promised to update the electoral register in Anambra, by embarking on continuous voters' registration between August 19 and 25.
This, according to Jega, "will give an opportunity for all those who have become 18 years of age since the last registration in 2011,to register adding: "It is in this context that we have made a review of the register of voters for Anambra state a key item on the agenda for today's meeting."
On the importance of a credible voters' register to transparency in election, Jega said: "As we are all aware, the credibility of the Register of Voters goes a long way to assure the credibility of the elections. In this regard, we have left no stone unturned in order to clean up and have a very credible register for Anambra State.
"All stakeholders must engage in the electoral process in strict compliance with the rules of the game, with decorum, civility, tolerance and mutual respect for one another. Campaigns, voting must be conducted decently, lawfully, peacefully in accordance with the best standards and practices as well as democratic norms," Jega added.
