The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) said that high levels of poverty, illiteracy, and unemployment are the major threats to democratic elections in the country.
Chief administrative officer of INEC, Tony Ezenmo, had said this on Tuesday, September 24,
According to Vanguard, Ezenwo stated this during the zonal training for electoral security personnel for Kogi 2019 governorship election which took place in Idah, Kogi state.
Regarding issues of insecurity, Ezenwo said:
“Sometimes, the challenge of electoral insecurity comes largely from undue exploitation of ethnic, religious and communal differences by the political elite. Political elites who deliberately exploit existing social cleavages and fault lines for political advantage are often referred to as conflict entrepreneurs.”
According to him, security agencies are required by law to harness and deploy their human and material resources to provide a conducive environment for all activities of the Election Managers Boards (EMB), political parties, politicians, the electorate and other stakeholders in all phases of the electoral process.