The Monitoring/Observation Sub-Committee

Co-Chairmen: Reverend Father Martin Onukwuba & Reverend Canon I.C.Okoye

The main burden of protecting the electoral process against rampant abuse falls upon the Monitoring/Observation Sub-Committee.

Its functions are:

i. to ensure that effective local monitoring teams are in place in all the 4,611 polling stations in the State. These teams (in which the Churches, Town Unions and other civil society organizations should be represented) must be care- fully trained, properly led, equipped with tape recorders, cameras, GSM phones, and transport, to discharge their duties; ii. to build the capacity for every aspect of election and post-election activities including the collection of data for presentation at election tribunals;

iii. to check that the register of voters is reviewed in every ward by October 6, 2009;

iiv. to verify that voters registers are displayed for public inspection in every polling station by October 30, 2009;

v. to report errors in the register of voters to INEC, and checks that corrections are made and displayed for public inspection by December 6, 2009;

vi. to monitor the appointment of presiding officers for polling stations and ensure that partisan persons do not become presiding officers.

vii. to check that the twenty five candidates in the gover- norship race submit the names of their polling agents to INEC by January 30, 2009;

viii. to make arrangements for local monitoring teams to be on duty on polling day, fully equipped to observe,record and transmit information without delay to the central Secretariat;

ix. to ensure that election results are followed up from polling stations to collation centers in the ward, the local government and the State headquarters of INEC.