The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has revealed that it is still working on the final report of the review of the 2019 general elections it conducted alongside critical stakeholders.
INEC had carried out an extensive review and debriefing on the 20l9 general elections to evaluate the Commission’s performance of the key activities of the general elections, with a view to addressing identified challenges and strengthening operational and institutional capacities to conduct free, fair, credible and peaceful elections.
A comprehensive report of the reviews and debriefing, which took place between May and June 20l9 was to be presented in August but that has not been done up to this moment.
Speaking exclusively to BusinessDay, Rotimi Kayode, chief press secretary to the INEC chairman and member of the Report Committee, said final touches were being put to the report and it would soon be made public.
Kayode noted that as a major report of the Commission on the 2019 general elections, a lot of processes were being followed and the Committee saddled with the responsibility is presently finalising work on it.
“The report is not ready yet, we are finalising work on that. It is a major report of the commission and there are processes, so that is what we are working on now”, he stated.
The review was focused on the planning, organisation, conduct and coordination of the general elections, particularly on areas such as: logistics, procurement and deployment of personnel and materials; continuous voter registration and collection of permanent voter’s cards.
The review also looked at legal environment of the elections, particularly the legal challenges experienced over nomination of candidates and conduct of elections; processes of party registration, party primaries and nomination of candidates.
Other areas covered in review are, quality of adhoc staff; relationship between the Commission and diverse stakeholders, including political parties, security agencies, civil society organisations, the media and development partners; and quality of inclusivity of the elections, particularly regarding persons with disabilities, lDPs and gender balance.
There were internal reviews, involving National Commissioners, Resident Electoral Commissioners, Electoral Officers, Collation and Returning Officers, as well as, other key staff of the Commission.
James Kwen, Abuja
