In the governorship elections in Ekiti and Osun states, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has promised voters that their ballots will be counted.
The dates for the elections are June 18 and July 16, respectively.
INEC Commissioner of Information and Voter Education Festus Okoye said that preparations for free, fair, transparent, and inclusive elections in Ekiti and Osun are well underway.
He claims that the commission is not taking anything for granted as it prepares for the elections.
INEC’s spokesman stated that the commission is confident in the accreditation devices’ optimal functioning, referring to the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS).
“We are holding meetings and putting together strategies and tactics of making sure INEC conducts free, fair and transparent elections in both states,” Okoye said.
“We are confident that whatever issues there are with the BVAS have been resolved, and we are expecting to have a very good accreditation process at the elections.
“Those two elections may likely be the only off-season governorship election that we are going to conduct before the 2023 general election.
“We are preparing, and we are preparing very hard.
“We have also made it possible for people to have trust and confidence in the electoral process through the introduction of the BVAS.
“With the introduction of BVAS, people believe that ghosts will not come to vote. People believe that those who have quarantined permanent voter cards (PVCs) will not be in a position to use them. So, only the living will cast their votes in Osun and Ekiti.
“We are putting everything in place to make sure that we conduct a good election in both states. We are preparing for these two elections, and we are preparing well.
“People must have hope that the electoral management body will do what is right in terms of making sure that the only determinant of who gets elected and who does not get elected, will revolve around the votes of the people cast at the polling units.”