Some countries in the international community have called for
transparent campaigns and also urged the electorate to exercise their
democratic right by vote during the forthcoming general election.
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| INEC ballot box |
The countries made this known in a statement in Abuja on Sunday.
They comprise the European Union delegation to Nigeria, France,
Germany, UK, Austria, Bulgaria, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark,
Finland, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia,
Spain, Sweden.
Others are the U.S., Australia, Japan, Netherlands, Norway and Republic of Korea.
“At the beginning of the 2019 electoral campaign, we would like to
reiterate our strong commitment to support democracy in Nigeria.
“As friends of Nigeria and its people, we will follow the campaigns and election process closely.
“Who wins the elections is for the Nigerian people to decide. Our
concern is to see a process leading to free, fair, transparent and
peaceful elections.
“We hope to see transparent campaigns and we urge all voters to use their democratic right and vote.
“We are particularly keen to see greater participation of women, youth and people living with disabilities.”
They expressed concerns over widespread incidents of intimidation,
interference and vote-buying during the recent governorship elections
and irregularities and violence during party primaries.
They further urged all political and non-political actors to refrain
from using hate speech and to take a firm stance against violence.
“The 2015 Peace Accords played an important role in that regard and we welcome new efforts towards that end.”
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They reiterated the importance of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as it fulfils its constitutional role.
“INEC must be allowed to operate free from outside pressure and
intimidation, and in turn must demonstrate full neutrality and
professionalism.
“We encourage that adequate funding is swiftly facilitated for INEC
and supporting institutions, and we hope to see the entry into force of
improvements to the Electoral Act as soon as possible.”
They urged security agencies to provide a safe and secure environment
in an impartial manner for Nigerians to exercise their democratic
rights.
“We strongly support the principle of media freedom and the vital
role the independent media plays in ensuring informed public debate.
“We also stress the importance of balanced, neutral and non-defamatory coverage.”
In a related development, the Institute for Peace and Conflict
Resolution (IPCR) also called for all electoral processes before, during
and after the elections to be free, fair, credible and peaceful.
The institute made the appeal in a statement signed by Mr Abu Michael for the Acting Director-General.
He urged politicians to “exhibit high sense of forbearance and love
for the country” by avoiding the use of hate speech and actions that may
be counterproductive during the campaigns.
“It is incumbent on all the politicians particularly, the flag
bearers of the various political parties to educate their supporters on
the significance of peace and also ensure that they are peaceful in all
their conducts during the campaign period.”
He also urged the youth not to allow themselves be used by “selfish
politicians as thugs” and the media to report responsibly and remain
impartial.
He further called for the neutrality of the electoral body and security agencies during the election process.
“Therefore, the police and other security agencies should ensure the
protection of everyone during the period of campaigns and within the
ambit of the law, must not hesitate to bring to book bad elements that
may jeopardise electoral process.”
