INEC okays 134 observers for Edo, Ondo polls

The Independent National Electoral Commission has said a total of 134 local and international election observer groups have been accredited to monitor the governorship polls in Edo and Ondo states.

A breakdown by the commission revealed that 124 are domestic, while 10 are international observer groups.

The According reports that Edo and Ondo governorship polls are slated for September 21 and  November 16, respectively.

The commission, in a statement on Monday by its National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee, Sam Olumekun disclosed that a total of 153 applications were received from observer groups out of which 134 met the stipulated requirements.

Olumekun added that out of the 134 groups, 28 are gender-based, three represent persons with disability, eight are faith-based, 10 are foreign groups and  100 “are working in areas relevant to the functions of INEC”.

He said, “In continuation of preparations for the 2024 Edo and Ondo State governorship elections, the commission is pleased to provide an update on the accreditation of observers for the elections.

“A total of 153 applications were received from interested organisations. After a review as provided by our regulations and guidelines, 134 groups (124 domestic and 10 international) met the requirements for accreditation.

“The classification of the organisations shows that 28 are gender-based, three represent persons with disability, eight are faith-based, 10 are foreign and over 100 others working in areas relevant to the functions of INEC, most of them with previous experience of election observation.”

Olumekun urged the selected groups to proceed to the next stage of the registration process.

He said, “The next step is for the accredited organisations to upload the personal details and photographs of their field observers to our dedicated portal established for that purpose. To this end, the commission is organising a one-day training for representatives of observer groups on Wednesday 17th July 2024.”