There are indications that a total of 1766, out of the 2660, accredited observers may not monitor the September 21 Edo State governorship election.
The Independent National Electoral Commission ( INEC) had accredited a total of 134 domestic and foreign organisations to deploy observers to monitor the Edo and Ondo election.
Nevertheless, the INEC Chairman, Mahmood Yakubu, at a quarterly meeting with civil society organisations (CSOs) on Tuesday, said only 56 of 134 organisations have uploaded the details of the 894 observers on its portal.
According to Yakubu, the figure represents 33.6 percent of the expected observers. He stated that the deadline for the upload of observers details remains July 31 “when the portal automatically shuts down at 6pm.”
The INEC boss stated that while some organisations have requested for additional slots for observers to deploy in two elections, the “commission will consider such requests on a case-by-case basis depending on the organisation’s previous experience, size, capacity and record of compliance with the guidelines and code of conduct for election observation.”
