THE National Human Rights Commission, NHRC, has begun full scale compilation of all forms of electoral malpractices recorded during the last 2019 General Elections across the nation.

Already, consultations had commenced with stakeholders including members of civil societies, who monitored the elections with a view to producing comprehensive report on the conduct of the polls.

Nkechi Ugwuanyi, the Anambra State coordinator of the Commission, told newsmen in Awka, shortly after an interactive session with some stakeholders on April 17, that the exercise was to determine the credibility of the elections.

She said the commission would soon release a documented report of all election offences recorded during recently held elections across the nation in line with its monitoring mandate.

“We intend to ensure compliance to policies, there is no need churning out policies that will not be implemented. This will help us to determine if the elections were free and fair.

“The exercise will be an opportunity for us to know the extent to which voters were disenfranchised and to ensure that  in the event of lapses, INEC is  repositioned for better performance,’’ Ugwuanyi  added.

The state coordinator said that the commission would do all it could to protect the rights of the citizenry and ensure conformity with policies in line with international human rights standards.

Timothy Ginika, one of the participants, who described the event as apt, called for immediate amendment of the electoral Act to enable INEC, to be truly independent.

Ginika, who represented Human Rights Golden Rules International, asked election stakeholders to articulate mechanism that would guarantee transparency of elections and respect of the people’s mandate.

– Apr. 18, 2019 @ 18:15 GMT |