Almost half of Imolites may not vote in the November 11, 2023 governorship election in the Eastern Heartland due to insecurity and apathy. But the Independent National Election (INEC) has assured that elections will be held in all the 27 local councils of Imo. According to a recent survey by an international African-led non-governmental human rights organisation, Alliances for Africa (AfA), 43 per cent of the sample of Imo State citizens said they would not participate in the election.
The respondents in the survey, entitled ‘The Imo State Citizens’ Charter of Demand’, cited insecurity, as well as loss of confidence in the electioneering process and Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) reasons for their decision.
Briefing newsmen in Owerri, yesterday, AfA Executive Director, Ms. Iheoma Obibi, said the essence of the survey is to identify the citizens’ immediate demands from the incoming government after the November 11 ballot.
The group also stressed the need for citizens’ engagement and participation in governance, “which is crucial for sustaining the development of any society.” She said: “AfA, with the support of Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) and MacArthur Foundation, is implementing a project to foster political reforms, social inclusion, gender equity, anti-corruption, transparency, accountability, strengthening policies and programmes by addressing corruption in Imo, in preparations for the election. “One of our approaches towards realising the project’s goal is to develop the Citizens Charter of Demand (CCD-Imo State), which will aid and empower citizens to articulate their desired dividends of a true democratic process that will reflect service deliveries, better policy reforms, standard infrastructure, among others.” It was gathered that the charter, in addition, amplifies citizens’ voices, articulates their desired dividends and empowers them for strategic advocacy with their representatives at the House of Assembly. The Programme Coordinator, AfA, Adaeze Egbunobi, said: “Population of the study comprises citizens across the 27 local councils of Imo. Each had at least a sample respondent. From the total sample size, it was gathered that 53.5 per cent of the respondents affirmed that they would participate in the election; 44.3 per cent said they would not and 2.2 per cent were not sure. “Most citizens, who declined to participate in the election, were of the opinion that elections no longer reflect the opinion of the people; the election would be rigged judging from past experiences; and votes do not count again.” INEC also said elections will be held throughout the 4,720 polling units in the state, including volatile areas such as Orsu and Okigwe.
Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) for Imo, Prof. Sylvia Agu, disclosed this during a press briefing at the commission’s headquarters in Owerri on Wednesday.
She said 2,318,919 Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) were collected, but 101,003 were uncollected. According to her, the commission will engage about 21,000 personnel to perform different functions, even as she assured that they were ready. She also assured of logistics and timely transportation of election materials and officials. Further, Agu explained that the state has 4,758 polling units, and that the 38 discovered without voters had been removed. She maintained that the commission was prepared to conduct credible elections, adding that the security agencies had assured of maximum protection of personnel and voters.
“We are very prepared, we don’t anticipate any hitch or glitch. The materials will get to the polling units by 8.00a.m. We are prepared to use INEC Result Viewing (IReV) Portal and Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS), but we have manuals as our fallback. “We cannot collate manually. Bayelsa did not say so; it’s social media. Let me emphasise this, we are prepared to use IREV,” the Imo REC said.
