Abuja Bureau Chief ONYEDI OJIABOR examines the pitfalls which the electoral commission should avoid during the Bayelsa and Kogi states governorship polls.The governorship elections will hold in Bayelsa and Kogi states on Saturday.Eligible voters in the two states are expected to troop out to elect their governors.The stakes are really high for the elections, if claims and counter-claims of schemes, designs and intrigues trailing the run-up to the crucial elections are anything to go by.Stakeholders and observers alike are, however, looking forward to credible, free and fair elections in the two states.Gladiators in the elections are on top of their games calculating and plotting to out do their opponents to carry the day.Kogi and Bayelsa are states of interest in election matters considering the high level of volatility in the states.The volatility in the two states not withstanding, it is obligatory for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in line with its mandate, not only to do justice but to be seen through and through, to have done justice in the elections.Stakeholders say the electoral umpire is not taking chances because its image is at stake.The umpire, it was learnt, has continued to hold a series of strategic meetings and consultations with stakeholders to perfect its programmes of action.The two state elections will be combined with two more elections by court order as confirmed by the INEC.According to the INEC, in Bayelsa State, the governorship election will be held simultaneously with Brass 1 state constituency supplementary election in six polling units in Cape Farmosa ward of Brass Local Government Area.It was learnt that the supplementary election would have been held about seven months ago but for the protracted litigation that was finally settled by the Supreme Court.In Kogi State, the governorship election will be combined with the Kogi west senatorial re-run election ordered by the authority of the election petition appeal tribunal and reaffirmed by the Court of Appeal.Although there may be other interested parties, the Kogi west senatorial re-run election appears a straight fight between two unrelenting gladiators.Irrepressible senator Dino Melaye of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) will battle indefatigable senator Smart Adeyemi of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the coveted senatorial seat.Observers say the Kogi west senatorial re-run election is one election they cannot wait to hear its result. Adeyemi and Melaye are not new to the game. They have travelled the same road before. This time around, sons of the soil of Kogi west say a number of factors will play out to decide who emerges victorious.Findings show that one of the factors that may influence the voting pattern is the interest of Kogi west after four years.INEC gave the number of registered voters in the Kogi west senatorial district as 432,515. It also declared a total of 2,076 as the number of registered voters in the six polling units in Brass 1 State constituency, Bayelsa State.While giving a load down of the preparations of the electoral arbiter for a hitch free outing in the elections, INEC chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu, said Bayelsa with eight local government areas has 105 registration areas, 1,804 polling units and 923,182 registered voters of which 498,790 (54.3 percent) are males while 424,392(45.97 percent) are female.Professor Yakubu put the number of permanent voter cards collected across Bayelsa state as at 30th September 2019 at 889,308(96.3 percent) with 33,874 (3.7 percent) still uncollected.Kogi state on the other hand has 21 local government areas, 239 registration areas, 2,548 polling units. The number of registered voters is put at 1,646,350 of which 825,663 (50.1 percent) are male while 820,687 (49.9 percent) are female.The number of PVCs collected in the state is put at 1,485,828 (90.2 percent) leaving 160,522 (9.8 percent) uncollected.To deepen transparency and accountability, the electoral umpire assured that it will make available detailed figures of PVCs collected in each state by local government and registration area.On its level of preparedness for the elections, the commission recalled that six months ago, it released timetable and schedule of activities for the Bayelsa and Kogi governorship elections in which 14 activities were itemized, including dates for the implementation of each activity. So far, according to the commission, as at Thursday 30th October,2019, 10 out of the 14 activities have been successfully implemented, including the conduct of party primaries and the nomination of candidates.At the end of the process, 45 political parties in Bayelsa state (42 male and 3 female) and 23 in Kogi state (21 male and 2 female) will be on the ballot, INEC declared.Read Also:Kogi poll: Bello will triumph, says TiamiyuThe commission further informed that all non-sensitive materials for the elections have been delivered in Bayelsa and Kogi states and have been appropriately batched in line with the commissions plans.To forestall hiccups especially given the volatile nature of politics and elections in Kogi and Bayelsa, the commission decided to engage stakeholders early and continuously in addition to other focused engagements in the states.The engagements, it was learnt, were aimed at hearing from stakeholders what additional steps INEC needs to take in order to ensure peaceful campaign, election day activities, collation of results and declaration of results.Security agencies were not left out by the commission in the strategic engagements to ensure unimpeded access to voting locations and collation centres for accredited media organisations in addition to adequate protection for all, including election officials and the voters.Apparently to make assurance double sure, the commission went further to agree that the rules of engagement for security officials on election duty should be reprinted and made available to security personnel and stakeholders.Although the commission expressed concern about the possibility of voter harassment, inducement including vote buying and other sundry violations of the Electoral Act, it planned to deepen collaboration with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Offences Commission to keep their eyes on the movement of cash during the electioneering campaigns and on election day with the aim of inducing voters.INEC is not moved by claims, counter claim, half truth. It simply wants to focus and deliver wholesome electoral success in Kogi and Bayelsa come November 16.The race is on. The topography looks hard. Candidates have negotiated the difficult curve line of party primary and nomination. They are on the touchline waiting for the whistle. Voters will decide who will be the first to brace the tape on the finish line on Saturday.The race is on. The topography looks hard. Candidates have negotiated the difficult curve line of party primary and nomination. They are on the touchline waiting for the whistle. Voters will decide who will be the first to brace the tape on the finish line on Saturday
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