An ad hoc staff member of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Rotaro Peace, has described the recently concluded Ekiti State governorship election as free, fair and peaceful, saying the electoral process was conducted transparently without any form of rigging or violence.

Sharing his experience from the field on her Facebook page, Peace said she did not witness any electoral malpractice during the exercise, noting that voters moved around freely and participated in the process without intimidation.

According to her, while incidents of vote-buying were observed, such actions could not be attributed to INEC, which she said put adequate measures in place to ensure a credible election.

Peace commended the commission for introducing voter-friendly measures that made participation easier for registered voters. She explained that INEC displayed the names of registered voters at polling units, allowing individuals who did not have their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) with them to locate their details and retrieve the last six digits of their PVC numbers for accreditation through the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS).

She noted that the innovation reduced the frustration often experienced by voters who misplaced or forgot their PVCs, while still ensuring proper verification before voting.
The ad hoc staff member also praised the BVAS technology for strengthening the integrity of the election. She explained that the device electronically records accredited voters, making it possible to detect cases where votes cast exceed the number of accredited voters, thereby preventing over-voting and other irregularities.

Peace further observed that political parties and their agents conducted themselves peacefully throughout the exercise, largely because they understood that violence could lead to the cancellation of results in affected polling units.

She recounted that supporters and agents of major political parties, including APC, PDP and ADC, interacted cordially at his polling unit and maintained a friendly atmosphere before, during and after voting.

According to her, even after the announcement of results in which the APC emerged victorious at the polling unit, party supporters continued to relate peacefully without hostility.

Peace said the experience reinforced her belief that peaceful elections are achievable when institutions perform their duties effectively and citizens place national unity above political differences.

She urged Nigerians to remember that political affiliations should never destroy relationships among families, friends, neighbours and community members, stressing that shared humanity should always come before partisan interests.

Pix sourced from her Facebook page