INEC Ready for Enugu North By-Election with 87% Preparedness

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has reported that it is over 87 percent ready for the upcoming Enugu North Senatorial District by-election in Enugu State.

Dr Chukwuemeka Chukwu, the Resident Electoral Commissioner in Enugu State, shared this information in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday.

NAN notes that INEC has set June 20 for the by-election. The commission announced and published the notice and timetable for the election on May 21.

Chukwu mentioned that non-sensitive materials are sorted and ready to be sent to the six local government area offices in the senatorial district.

"We are sending the non-sensitive materials today (June 3) to our council area offices involved, and by Thursday (June 4), the materials will be moved to INEC’s Registration Area Centres (RACs)," he said.

The REC added that the commission has fully set up and charged all the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System devices to ensure everything runs smoothly during the by-election.

He also noted that INEC has completed all important meetings with stakeholders at the state, senatorial, and local government area levels.

Chukwu said these meetings saw a large turnout, with many stakeholders asking relevant questions about the by-election. INEC's top officials provided answers to these questions.

According to him, four political parties will present candidates for the by-election.

The REC explained that these political parties had their primary elections monitored by INEC officials, and reports were sent to the commission's headquarters.

"The reason I cannot mention the political parties now is that we are waiting for our headquarters to approve the report on the parties' primaries conducted," he said.

Chukwu also mentioned that INEC will train various officials for the by-election on Friday.

He added that soon, the commission will meet with the police and other security agencies to ensure the safety of INEC officials and ad-hoc staff, as well as the protection of both sensitive and non-sensitive materials and voters.