The National Coordinator of Election Monitor, Abiodun Ajijola, has urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and all security agencies in the country to assure voters that the November 18, governorship elections in the state will take place as scheduled.
He said this was against the backdrop of reports that some sinister groups in the state had embarked on a door-to-door campaign to dissuade voters from turning out en masse to cast their votes during the governorship election.
Ajijola made the appeal during the Public Presentation of the Election Monitor 2017 Anambra state Governorship Election Observation and Research Guide in Abuja.
According to him, security agencies should ensure that all posters promoting ‘No election’ in the state be pulled down immediately.
“There is an agenda to discourage voters from voting. Our survey has also shown that about 45 percent of eligible voters are apprehensive of possible attacks by those who do not want the election to hold.
“Therefore, we call on INEC and security agencies to do all within their power to calm frayed nerves and reassure voters that the election will hold in an environment safe enough for them to exercise their franchise,” he said.
Ajijola also stressed the need for efforts to be made to drastically reduce vote-buying, with such activities strictly prohibited within the polling areas.
