‘2019 general election will be knowledge-driven’

Joseph Iloh, an associate professor, and resident electoral commissioner, Abia State, says that the 2019 general election will be knowledge-driven as the electorate have the final say.

Iloh said this in his office during a meeting with chairmen of political parties in the state under the aegis of Inter-Party Advisory Council to discuss the way forward on the continuous registration (of voters) exercise in the state.

Iloh said INEC will never help any party if ever it did so in the past and that only voters would help, as their opinion would be the final word.

He advised political parties to redesign their roadmap to success so that election in the state would be better than that of Anambra State which had given INEC its credibility.

He asked the chairmen in the state to mobilise their people to register in the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise as it would be the only time they could vote for candidates of their choice.

Iloh said it was embarrassing that Abia State had only 1.39million registered voters but that since his office started the CVR exercise, the number has increased.

He expressed disappointment that IPAC participation was not encouraging and that IPAC absence from town hall meetings organised by INEC was also not encouraging.

Emeka Okafor, chairman IPAC, Abia State, assured Iloh that the council this time around would assist INEC in the on-going CVR. He promised to write and also visit all the churches to plead with their ministers to mobilise members and educate them on the need to register.

He also promised that all the chairmen of registered political parties in the state would, henceforth, be participating in town hall meetings.

 

UDOKA AGWU, Umuahia