INEC chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, gave this charge during the Commission’s third regular quarterly consultative meeting with Civil Society Organizations on Tuesday in Abuja.
Prof. Yakubu said the Commission finds worrisome the recent event in Edo State resulting in the death of a security personnel.
He said the Commission is concerned about the safety of candidates, agents and supporters as well as their own officials, observers, journalists, service providers and, above all, the voters.
“We urge you to intensify your advocacy for peaceful elections, including engagement with stakeholders”.
Prof. Yakubu reminded CSOs of their obligation as observers to comply with the objectives of election observation and the Code of Conduct contained in the Commission’s rules of engagement for accredited election observers.
He however stated that the Commission reserves the right to revoke the accreditation of any individual observer or observer group that violates Code of Conduct for election observation.
“I wish to remind CSOs to submit the list of your observers by uploading the required information, including photographs, to the dedicated portal.
“As at yesterday, Monday 29th July 2024, 56 organisations have uploaded the details of 894 observers for the Edo State Governorship election representing 33.6% of the expected 2,660 observers.
The deadline is Wednesday 31stJuly 2024 when the portal automatically shuts down at 6pm. I urge you to ensure that you meet the deadline so that the Commission can produce the accreditation tags and deliver them to you for distribution to your observers in good time”, he added.
