Ahead of the governorship elections in Edo and Ondo states, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), said it has accredited 134 observer groups to monitor the polls
According a statement issued by the commissions Chairman of Information and Voter Education Committee, Sam Olumekun, ten out of the total figure are international observers, while 124 are domestic. The Commission received 153 applications and strictly applied its regulations and guidelines in arriving at a decision.
The commission stated further that the classification of the organisations showed that 28 are gender-based, three are representing Persons with Disability, eight are faith-based, while 10 foreign and over 100 others are working in areas relevant to the functions of INEC. Most of them have a previous experience of election observation.
INEC therefore called on the accredited organisations to upload the personal details and photographs of their field observers to our (INEC’s) dedicated portal established for that purpose.
“To this end, the Commission will on Wednesday 17th July 2024 organise a one-day training for representatives of observer groups at the Commission’s Conference Room, Abuja at 10.00am,” the statement noted.
The Statement added that details of the one-day training as well as the comprehensive list of all the 134 accredited groups have been uploaded to its website and social media platforms for action by the concerned organisations