From Maurice Okafor, Enugu
Ahead of the Saturday, 21st September local government elections in Enugu State, a group of Civil Society Organisations in partnership with Enugu state is training a total of 120 women, youths and people with disabilities (PWD) on how to effectively monitor the polls without bias and report back to the the organization for effective documentation that would guide future elections in the state and beyond.
The two-day training holding at the jubilee hall of the Catholic Holy Ghost Cathedral Enugu, commenced on Monday September 16 and would come to end on Tuesday,September 17.
The participants are drawn from the 17 local government areas of the state and will be posted across the 17 Council areas during the election.
The training is sponsored by Enugu state government in partnership with South Saharan Social Development Organization (SSSDO) Justice Development and Peace/Caritas Initiative (JDPC) and Actionaid Organisations.
In his opening remarks, Mr Celestine Okwudili Odo, one of the facilitators from Actionaid, described local government election as very important because it is the starting point of governance that impacts on the lives of the majority of the people who are the rural dwellers,the poor in the society and the vulnerable who are desiring government presence to better their lots.He said elections also provides avenues of holding those in governance accountable.
He disclosed that the duties of the election observers entails giving accurate reports of events on the areas where they are deployed on the day of the election to the situation room. A process that will enhance data collection for documentation upon which recommendations for future elections will rely on.
Mr Udochukwu Egwim, one of the facilitators from Actionaid,while corroborating Mr Odo’s speech disclosed that the training will also be extended to other stakeholders who will be involved in the election, including the security agencies as from Wednesday, September 18 at the same venue.
Another facilitator, Blessing Ifemenam, who tutored on the topic,’Election Observation’s Guidelines,Code of Conducts and Expectations’,cautioned the trainees to be apolitical,to be neutral so as to give unbiased reports to the situation room. They were tasked to detach themselves from political party agents and confide their reports only to the central situation room.
She stated, “You must not wear our tags to defend the cause of any political party.You are expected to provide feedback that w ill guide in writing our comprehensive reports and recommendations for future elections,”
