The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC has advised female voters in Anambra to avoid using makeup during the November 6 governorship election in the state.
The commission said the advice becomes necessary because of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System the agency would deploy to capture voters’ faces during the poll.
The INEC State Deputy Director, Gender Desk, Chika Osuji stated this in Awka, Anambra State at a voters’ education and sensitisation forum for Persons With Disabilities And Women’s groups.
The programme was organised by the International Foundation for Electoral Systems, United States Agency for International Development and the Consortium for Elections and Political Process Strengthening.
Osuji, said “The BVAS will be used during the Anambra gubernatorial election to enable voters to use their fingerprints during accreditation at the polling units.
“I know many women may not be able to engage makeup artists due to restriction of movements; but for those who can’t do without makeups, we appeal to you to minimise the level of the painting. If we can’t read your fingerprints we can read your face, and if we cannot read your face, you are not a registered voter, and we will not allow you to participate.”
Meanwhile, the INEC has assured the people of Anambra State, that the governorship election scheduled for November 6, will go ahead as scheduled.
An INEC Director, Chima Duruaku, said this at a meeting in Awka.
Duruaku, said, “INEC is a creation of the law. We do everything according to the law. The law will guide us in the conduct of the Anambra election.
“If the laws say we will postpone the election, we shall follow the law. But for now, we are not thinking of postponing the election. The November 6 date is sacrosanct and we are working towards that. No shift.”
The commission said it had no plans to bring election materials from Owerri, Imo State, as earlier announced.
It said all the non-sensitive materials for the poll were already at the 21 local government areas of Anambra State, waiting for distribution.
The commission earlier said it would bring nonsensitive materials from its South-East storage house in Owerri, Imo State.
The pronouncement was trailed by criticisms, owing to the position of the Imo State governor, Hope Uzodinma, who had said the All-Progressives Congress would capture Anambra State in the poll through “seen and unseen forces”.
But INEC said non-sensitive materials for the poll were already dispatched to the 21 local government areas of the state while the sensitive materials would be brought later into the state a few days to the poll and stored at the Central Bank.
