Banner Online News

By Chukwudi Abiandu

The Delta State Independent Electoral Commission (DESIEC), the political parties and their supporters, including notable stake holders and the security agencies have been admonished to ensure a high level of responsibility in their conducts as Delta state holds the council elections across the state on Saturday,January 6th, 2018.
The admonition came from the Delta Online Pub;lishers’ Forum (DOPF) in a statement signed by the Chairman, Mr. Emmanuel Enebeli,and Secretary, Mr. Shedrack Onitsha.
According to the publishers, the call for responsible conduct during Saturday’s council elections became necessary as it is the only way to showcase the election as transparent and credible, thus urging the various elements that will operate during the polls to engage according to the rules governing the conduct of elections in the state.
While reminding Deltans that elections are organised to put in place legitimate leadership in the society towards actualizing positive development, the statement called on the chief umpire of the election, the Delta state Independent Electoral Commission, (DESIEC), to create an atmosphere of level playing field by ensuring that all political parties and their candidates get equal and commensurate treatment.
“We call on the organisers of the Saturday, January 6th, 2018 Local Government Election, the Delta State Independent Electoral Commission, DESIEC, to give equal, unhindered attention to all parties and candidates. This is the only avenue to measure how free and fair the election would be judged,” the publishers stated.
The statement also called on all the parties, and the selected candidates to also conduct themselves in a manner that is worthy of those who are aspiring for leadership as councillors or Chairmen, as their actions or inactions will be used to ascertain their future behaviour if elected into the various positions come Saturday. The same way it also cautioned the followers and members of the different parties to avoid any action that will cause any breach of law and order in the state.
DOPF reminded Deltans of the thinking of many in the state, who believe that the outcome of Saturday’s election, will determine the outcome of future elections, especially the 2019, General Election.
“All Deltans should take the election serious, as the outcome of the election, according to many political commentators will shape future elections in the state, especially that of 2019. We want that future to be a positive one, with human faced development programmes that will uplift our people and communities.”
The statement further reminded the security services of their duty to ensure that there is safety at the pooling units and for voters as they move from their homes to exercise their civic rights, and should not in any way be partial, or harass the people who will be legitimately carrying out their civic duties.
“We also call on the various security services to ensure that the people are not harassed as they go to cast their votes, or harassed because they belong to different camp. It is your responsibilities to ensure the safety of all,” the statement stated.
It announced that Delta Online Publishers Forum, in line with is objective of promoting good governance and to inform the public through partnership with relevant organisations, will deploy its Reporters to the field to ensure that Deltans are properly informed about events and occurrences during the polls.