More than 10,000 people will help with the local government and ward elections in Cross River State on Saturday, November 2, 2024.
Dr. Ekong Edet Boco, the leader of the Cross River State Independent Electoral Commission (CROSIEC), shared this news at their office in Calabar. He told everyone that these people will help make the election happen smoothly.
Among these helpers, there are 9,843 temporary workers who got special training. Three of these workers will go to each of the 3,281 voting places across the 18 local government areas in the state. Imagine each voting place like a big house where people can vote.
Besides them, there are also 460 supervisors who will make sure everything runs well, 18 returning officers, and 196 collation officers who will handle counting the votes and making sure every vote is added up right.
Some people are worried and said that the results for the elections were decided already, which means they thought the election was unfair. But Dr. Boco said this isn’t true. He showed blank sheets of paper and other papers that the helpers will use for counting votes. He said, “We haven’t written down any results before the voting.”
All the helpers promised to keep secrets and be fair during the elections. Dr. Boco reminded them, “We want everyone to behave well. If someone does something bad, there will be trouble.”
He gave out important election papers and boxes in front of other officials, police officers, and news reporters. This way, everyone could see that everything was honest and ready for the election day.