By Abubakar Yunusa
Kimpact Development Initiative (KDI) has urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to establish mobile courts on election day to address cases of vote-buying, intimidation, and other violations swiftly.
Bukola Idowu, the Team Lead of KDI, made this recommendation in Abuja on Tuesday during the presentation of the organization’s final report on the conduct of the 2024 Ondo State governorship election.
Idowu emphasized KDI’s commitment to promoting electoral integrity and accountability in Nigeria.
“We commend the people of Ondo State, INEC, security agencies, and civil society partners for their roles in this election and urge stakeholders to take these lessons forward in the collective quest for a stronger democracy,” he said.
KDI proposed several measures to enhance electoral credibility in Nigeria, ,there should empowering the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) to work more closely with INEC in monitoring and prosecuting electoral offences such as vote-buying.
” Introducing stricter penalties for violations to deter acts like ballot box snatching.
” Conducting pre-election testing of Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) devices and deploying technical support teams across all polling units.
” Enhancing the training of polling officials to minimize errors in BVAS operation and troubleshooting.
” Investing in Backup Systems: Expanding technological backup systems to address potential malfunctions on election day.”
By implementing these recommendations, Idowu stated, Nigeria could strengthen the credibility of its elections and build public trust in democratic institutions.
