Residents of Sokoto State have been assured by the Independent National Electoral Commission that the supplementary National Assembly election taking place on Saturday will be free, fair, and credible.
The INEC National Election Commissioner, Modibo Alkali, while speaking at a stakeholders meeting on Thursday at the party secretariat, promised that the election in Sokoto will be among the best in the nation.
Alkali emphasised that the commission was ready to promote the progress of democracy and democratic procedures while insisting that all parties, including their agents, must abide by the rules of the game.
“We will not waiver our responsibility to doing the needful. We want as much as possible to avoid any confusion in order to safeguard against issues and misunderstandings.
“Parties should ensure that only one agent or representative is to each PU.
“We don’t want to experience any loss of life or bloodletting as we witnessed some disruption and disturbance at some PUs in the last exercise,” he said.
Alkali encouraged party leaders and stalwarts to inform their followers and members to be on peaceful conduct throughout the exercise, joined by the Acting REC, Lawyer Hauwa Kangiwa, and other top commission officials.
Throughout the exercise, he claimed, INEC maintained its status as a neutral organisation and provided assurance that the security services were working well together.
“We are holding a second leg of such a meeting with all security agencies to harmonise measures towards a successful supplementary election conduct in the state.”
However, representatives of all registered political parties in the state in attendance pledged to abide by the rules of the game.
