…Cautions Eligible Voters To Comply With Covid-19 Guidelines.

By John Nwokocha

Abuja

The Inter Party Advisory Council (IPAC) has demanded for a free, fair, credible, transparent, acceptable and violence-free governorship election in Edo State on Saturday 19th September 2020.

Urging stakeholders in the electoral process to respect the will and mandate of the good people of Edo State as they cast their votes in this Saturday gubernatorial poll, IPAC in a statement demanded from the national electoral umpire, INEC to provide a level playing field  for political parties and their candidates participating in the election and ensure the poll meets international standard bearing in mind that this is the first governorship election to be conducted under COVID-19 protocols.

Similarly, the Council urged eligible voters to comply with Coronavirus guidelines critical for the success of the poll by wearing their face masks, use sanitizer and observe social distancing.

Also, IPAC enjoins voters to turn up en masse and ensure that their votes are counted and count in the overall result.

Council warns against rigging, violence, ballot snatching, falsification of results, vote buying, cloning of permanent voter cards and declaration of fake results to cause confusion in the polity.

On security, the Council urges security agencies to be civil and professional in the discharge of their electoral duties, ensure prompt arrest of vote buyers and other electoral offenders and their sponsors.

While calling on the people of Edo State to defend their votes as power resides in the people, IPAC stated: “The ballot is sacrosanct and must be respected by all stakeholders.

“We cannot afford to roll back the progress made so far in advancing our democracy.

“We must therefore allow the will of Edo State voters to prevail in an atmosphere free of chaos and rancor”.

It called on all candidates to maintain restraint, cast their votes peacefully and accept the results of the election.

The statement signed by national publicity secretary of the Council, Mr Agbo Major, further said “IPAC will monitor the 19th September governorship election to ensure it meets the expectation of the people of Edo State. The whole world is watching us as the great arsenal of democracy in Africa. We are all in it together”.