The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has accredited about 134 local and international organisations interested in monitoring the off cycles of governorship elections in Ondo and Edo states later in the year.
A statement by the National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee of the commission, Sam Olumelun said the list is made up of 124 local and 10 international organizations.
The statement reads: “In continuation of preparations for the 2024 Edo and Ondo state governorship elections, the Commission is pleased to provide an update on the accreditation of observers for the elections.
“A total of 153 applications were received from interested organisations. After a review as provided by our regulations and guidelines, 134 groups (124 domestic and 10 international) met the requirements for accreditation.
“The classification of the organisations shows that 28 are gender-based, three representing Persons with Disability, eight are faith-based, 10 are foreign and over 100 others working in areas relevant to the functions of INEC, most of them with previous experience of election observation.
“The next step is for the accredited organisations to upload the personal details and photographs of their field observers to our dedicated portal established for that purpose.
“To this end, the Commission is organising a one-day training for representatives of observer groups on Wednesday 17th July 2024 at the Commission’s Conference Room in Abuja at 10.00 am. Access codes to the portal and letters of accreditation will be given to representatives of the accredited organisations at the training venue.
“Details of the one-day training as well as the comprehensive list of all the 134 accredited groups have been uploaded to our website and social media platforms for action by the concerned organisations and for public information.”