The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has said that there will be a partial ban on the use of electronic mobile devices inside the polling booth during the 2019 general elections, reports ITREALMS.
National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Publicity Committee at INEC, Barrister Festus Okoye made this disclosure in his address at the sensitization forum for the media in Ado-Ekiti on Monday, saying they have introduced a partial ban on the use of mobile phone and other photographic devices.
Okoye, who was represented at the forum by the outgoing Resident Electoral Commissioner for Ekiti State, Prof. Abdulganiyu Olayinka Raji, said the ban on mobile devices is strictly on voters at the polling booth.
“We have introduced a partial ban on the use of mobile phone and other photographic devices by voters while in the voting cubicles,” he declared.
Okoye also expressed dismay over the issue of vote buying and INEC has responded to this by first altering the configuration of polling units by moving the ballot boxes closer to the voting cubicles in order to make it difficult for voters to expose their marked ballot papers.
According to him, it is in the same stead that the partial ban on mobile phones and photographic devices was introduced.
In addition, INEC he said, has introduced the “rolling and flattening of ballot papers by voters before casting them into the ballot boxes, stressing that financial inducement by partisan actors through the collection of the voter identification numbers (VIN) and their Permanent Voters Cards (PVCs).
“We want to reassure Nigerians that we are aware of the new tricks. It is a futile effort. We will work with the security agencies to deal with the violators of our electoral laws,” Okoye insisted.
He emphasised on the role of the media to deeply engage in voter education, general enlightenment and mobilization.
Remmy Nweke/HO
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