By Vincent Ujumadu

Awka—THE Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) yesterday assured that the November 18, 2017 governorship election in Anambra State would not only be free, fair and credible, but an enjoyable exercise.

Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)

The Resident Electoral Commissioner in the state, Dr Nkwachukwu Orji, who gave the assurance during the Election Management System (EMS) implementer workshop for the staff of the commission in Awka, said INEC had put in place all necessary machineries in place to ensure that the electorate cast their votes in an environment devoid of any form of hostility.

According to Orji, previous elections in the state had been characterized by voter apathy as a result of various ugly experiences encountered by the voters before, during and after the elections.

He said: “Our commitment is to go beyond mere offering free fair credible election. That is guaranteed. What is now needed to be added is to make elections enjoyable.

“People need to move around freely and comfortably and to cast their votes without any molestation or harassment, and that their votes must count.

“If you tell them that election would commence by 8am and end by 5pm, you must be sure to keep to the time. You must also guarantee early arrival of both officials and necessary materials.

“These are some of the major challenges that make voters reluctant to exercise their franchise, which we are committed to addressing to make this election enjoyable.”

Orji said that 400,000 ad-hoc staff would be redeployed from other states to the state for the conduct of the exercise, adding that majority of them, as well as security operatives, had undergone training and were ready for deployment.

He described the Election Management System as a critical tool which the commission required to effectively manage field assets, resources, constituencies and chains of electoral activities in organizing elections.

He further said that the over 6,200 card readers needed for the election had been tested and were working , while the configuration of the cards would take four days to complete.

The National Commissioner of INEC South East, Professor Okechukwu Ibeanu, represented by the Technical Adviser to INEC Chairman, Professor Bolade Eyinla urged the participants to take the training seriously, describing their role in the exercise as critical in determining its outcome.