The Rivers Peace Initiative, RPI, and other Civil Society Organizations have engaged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Port Harcourt to advocate for peaceful, credible and violence-free by-elections in Khana II and Ahoada East II state constituencies, slated for February 21, 2026.
The high-level courtesy and strategic engagement visit took place on Tuesday 3 February at INEC’s Rivers State headquarters, where participants held frank discussions with Resident Electoral Commissioner Prof. Gabriel Yomere and his management team.
The meeting allowed civil society to raise probing questions and receive assurances on key preparations, including robust security measures, timely deployment of electoral personnel and materials, full functionality of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS), and transparent result collation with real-time transmission.
At the meeting, INEC reaffirmed its early planning efforts and operational readiness while candidly recognising security risks in parts of the state and committing to responsible mitigation strategies.
In a significant move, RPI formally presented a comprehensive set of civil society recommendations on election observation and public confidence-building.
These inputs, crafted in partnership with reputable organisations, aim to strengthen institutional accountability and foster peaceful polls.
The group pledged continued support for calm, lawful and credible electoral processes throughout Rivers State amid heightened political tensions surrounding the vacancies — one caused by resignation and the other by the death of the former members.
Participating partners included Situation Room, Yiaga Africa, Civil Liberties Organisation, Search for Common Ground, Stakeholders Democratic Network, and Relief Africa International.
With less than three weeks to the polls, the engagement underscores growing stakeholder collaboration to safeguard democracy in Rivers State.
