- Safiu Kehinde
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, has charged the Nigeria Police Force, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), and other security agencies to arrest and prosecution anyone caught indulging in vote buying.
Amupitan gave the charge during his address at stakeholders’ engagement in Ekiti State on Wednesday ahead of the June 20 Governorship election in the state.
While identifying vote buying and rigging as one of the major challenges facing electoral process in Nigeria, the INEC Chairman urged the police, EFCC, as well as the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offenses Commission (ICPC) to ensure the arrest of anybody caught engaging in the criminal act.
Amupitan further urged all political parties to refrain from engaging in vote buying during the election.
“One of the major challenges and constraint to our electoral process is the issue of vote buying or vote rigging.
“This is a criminal offense under the electoral act, and it is the responsibility of the law enforcement agencies most especially, the EFCC, ICPC, and the police to ensure that those are involved in it arrested and prosecuted.
“It is the responsibility of INEC to prosecute. Therefore, we urge all political parties to please refrain from this issue of vote trading.” He said.
Meanwhile, the INEC boss announced that all newly registered voters have been included in the updated record of the commission.
“I want to assure that we have satisfied all the provisions in the Section 9 of the Electoral Act by updating and even including the newly registered voters together with the previous records.’ He said.
Amupitan described the voters register as “the foundation upon which free, fair and credible elections are built,” stressing that its accuracy and integrity were critical to ensuring that every eligible voter’s voice was heard.
He revealed that the voter register was compiled after “rigorous data collection, total verification and diligent cleaning exercises.”
According to him, the number of registered voters in Ekiti State increased significantly following the Continuous Voter Registration exercise.
‘”We had about 900,000 registered voters in Ekiti State, but as a result of the Continuous Voter Registration, the number has increased to about 1,059,360,” he disclosed.
The Chairman also charged political parties to mobilise voters to participate in the election, assuring residents that their votes would count.
“I want to assure you that your vote will count,” he reiterated, citing previous elections where results were transmitted promptly through the Result Viewing Portal.