Elections: Stay away from trouble zones, women voters warned

Women voters in Bauchi state have been advised to stay away from trouble zones during the upcoming February 16th and March 2nd general elections and report any person who intimidates them to security operatives at the polling units.

The advice was given by the Bauchi state Commissioner of Women Affairs, Hajiya Rukayya Kewa during a town hall meeting with women groups and gender focussed Civil Society Organizations in Bauchi State organized by the Centre for Information Technology And Development (CITAD) in collaboration with Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) held at Chart Well Hotels, Bauchi on Thursday.

The Commissioner who was represented by a Senior staff in the Ministry, Hajiya Talatu Musa, the said although women are encouraged to come out to exercise their franchise, they should be conscious of their safety by avoiding the argument that might lead to their being harassed at polling stations and reporting cases of intimidations to security agents.

She urged the women to encourage fellow women in their various domains to peacefully come out en masse to vote for credible candidates and warn their youth children to eschew violence during all elections.

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In his speech, the state Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) Ibrahim Abdullahi represented by the Administrative Secretary of the Commission,  Alhaji Baba Bukar Usman stated that INEC has so far achieved about 85 per cent of its election activities in the state saying that collection of Permanent Voters Cards (PVCs) has been closed.

According to him, the success of the 2019 elections lies on the contribution of all stakeholders including the security personnel, voters and Civil Society Organizations.

Also speaking, CITAD representative, Mohammed Hassan Chiroma explained that the meeting was aimed at enhancing women’s participation in the forthcoming elections ‘because they constitute a high number of voters’.

He urged them to step down the message to other women in their respective areas even as the centre asked women to call the security distress number 080034259776 when they feel their polling units are unsafe or if they notice acts of malpractices noting that the calls are free of charge as it had already settled communication service providers.