EU, IPC ask INEC to build citizens’ trust

The European Union Support for Democratic Governance in Nigeria and the International Press Centre have urged the Independent National Electoral Commission to build citizens’ trust in the electoral process through transparency as well as timely and accurate communication.

The EUSDGN and IPC spoke at Ikogosi Ekiti, Ekiti State on Saturday at a two-day workshop on “Effective communication in electoral process: Communicating with empathy and expertise,” organised for staff of Ondo State INEC preparatory to the November 16, 2024 governorship election in the state.

The workshop, a component of EUSDGN, was organised by IPC in partnership with DAI and Centre for Media Society, with the goal of enhancing the electoral process in Nigeria.

The Executive Director of IPC, Lanre Arogundade, who spoke on behalf of the organisers, said that citizens’ trust in the election management body was a necessary condition for polls to be acceptable, saying such could be achieved by INEC through “conveying messages that are accurate, timely and accessible”.

Arogundade said, “Clear and transparent communication is essential for building trust with the electorate, ensuring that citizens are well-informed about the electoral processes and addressing any concerns that may arise.

“From our work on elections, we discovered that there are elements of mistrust on the part of the people on INEC. We believe that if INEC engages the electorate very well, then, they may be able to regain their trust. Trust matters.

“When there is no trust, no matter what INEC does, the perception will be there that they are not doing it very well. My advice to INEC in Ondo state is for them to understand the crisis of perception. So they have to prepare for it to ensure people have the required confidence in the electoral process.”

He advised the political parties participating in the Ondo governorship election to play by the rules to ensure peaceful exercise, adding that candidates and parties whose supporters involved in violence would be held responsible.

Arogundade also advised registered voters in Ondo state to participate in the electoral process by going to cast their ballots, saying, “It is your responsibility to elect the government that you want. If the majority sit at home, then the minority will determine your fate for the next four years.

“I will also advise the electorate that it is not worth it to sell your votes. There is no amount given to you to buy your vote that can solve your problem. Voters should shun inducement from the political parties and vote according to their conscience,” the IPC ED said.

The INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner, Ondo Slstate, Mrs Oluwatoyin Babalola, said the workshop would boost the communication capacity of the electoral body’s staff and as well as positively impact on the confidence of the public, electorate and political parties.

The REC assured that INEC was set to conduct a credible, free, fair, inclusive and transparent governorship election where every vote would count in Ondo State next month.

Babalola said, “We are prepared. We are doing a lot on voter education through various channels – mass media, grassroot mobilisers, we are working with CSOs who are already on the field mobilising and creating awareness. We have had several workshops with different groups – security agencies, youth, women, and people with disabilities.

“We already have the bimodal accreditation system machines in sufficient quantity. They are charged. By next week, we’ll start configuring our machines. I want people to know that BVAS will automatically upload the results from polling units on the INEC election result viewing portal.

“We are promising that every vote will count, so. They should come out on election day. We are advising people not to sell their votes. When you sell your vote, you sell your future for the satisfaction of a few days. When you sell your vote, you have mortgaged your future for the next four years.

“We also want the voters to know that the agencies responsible for checking against vote-buying have taken adequate steps towards arrest and checkmating any form of vote-selling and vote-buying in the state,” she said.

The REC, who said that INEC had deployed the non-sensitive materials it had received to the different local government areas, said that the remaining would be received for onward distribution this week.