Feb 16: Foreign observers commend INEC preparation

A Group of foreign observers from South Africa, Pan Africa Womans Project which arrived in Kano to monitor the general elections, has commended the level of preparations by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for the presidential election in the state.

Leader of the team Belinda Madona who led its members, made the commendation on Friday in Kano while addressing newsmen on the Saturday’s election.

According to her, the group has been monitoring elections in various countries, including the 2015 elections in Nigeria and the recent elections in Osun and Ekiti states.

She advised Nigerians to conduct themselves in a matured way before, during and after by shunning any form of political thuggery aimed at ensuring a peaceful conduct of the elections.

According to her, having a violence free election and avoiding all forms of vote buying and election malpractices are some of their major expectations at the end of the elections.

Madona also commended the efforts of all security agencies in Kano for mapping out a befitting security strategy targeted at ensuring free, fair and violence free election.

The leader of the team added that with preparations put in place by all the stakeholders, the group had the hope that the elections would be violence-free.

Madona called on the security agencies in the state to be objective and honourable while discharging their duties during the conduct of the elections so that it could be free from intimidation.

She, therefore, called on the electorate to come out en-masse without fear or intimidation to exercise their civic rights by voting for candidates of their choice.