Guber Poll: Don’t lose faith in us; your votes will count, INEC tells Ondo electorate

The REC said the level of turnout during the voters’ registration exercise indicated that the electorate is anxious to participate in the election.

Tosin Ajuwon • September 23, 2024

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) used to illustrate story.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has assured the electorate in Ondo State that their votes would count in the November 16 off-cycle governorship election.

The commission also said it was working assiduously to ensure that there was ‘no voter apathy’ during the exercise, where 17 political parties fielded candidates.

The Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in the state, Oluwatoyin Babalola, gave the assurance during a visit to members of the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) in Akure, the state capital, on Monday.

Ms Babalola said the electorate should not lose faith in the electoral process, explaining that the electoral body was working towards a free and fair election in the state.

She said the level of turnout during the voters’ registration exercise indicated that electorate is anxious to participate in the election.

“People of Ondo State should not lose faith. They should believe in us that we will do the best for this election. We will ensure that we continue to work with security agencies to ensure that the level of violence is reduced.

“We will also make sure that the polling units open on time so that we don’t waste time, and materials will be at the 3,993 polling units spread across 203 registration areas of the state. We are hopeful, and we believe we will have the best election,” said Ms Babalola.

Ms Babalola added that the electoral body would also ensure it deployed the bimodal voter accreditation system (BVAS) and the result viewing portal (IREV) for the election exercise, assuring that the devices would work optimally.

“We have the IREV and BVAS. All these will make votes count. People of Ondo State should not lose faith. They should believe in us. And we are going to give them the best election,” the REC said.

Ms Babalola said the electoral body would be open and ensure its doors are widely open to the media for information concerning the exercise.

Remarking, the NUJ chairman, Leke Adegbite, appreciated the REC for the visit and assured that the media would ensure it performed its role by giving maximum coverage.

He, however, advised the commission to ensure the election is violence-free, the people’s votes count, and politicians play by the rules of the game.

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