… insist no vote-buying, vote-selling
With the 2023 elections just a few hours away, a coalition of 200 Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) has tasked the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), security agencies, political parties, candidates and their supporters to ensure peaceful, violence-free polls devoid of vote-buying and other malfeasance.
The group gave the charge at a pre-election meeting in Gelegele, Ovia North East Local Government Area of Edo State.
Welcoming participants at the event, Rev David Ugolor, co-convener of the group and executive director of Africa Network for Environment and Economic Justice (ANEEJ), called on political parties and their agents as well as voters ensure zero tolerance to electoral violence and vote-buying.
Ugolor further urged all stakeholders in the electoral process to leave no stone unturned in ensuring that vote-trading was eradicated during the 2023 general election.
Mr. Joseph Gbale, co-convener of the group and head of Ijaw Youth Leadership Forum (IYLF), while addressing participants at the well-attended meeting, noted with satisfaction INEC’s level of preparations for the elections.
He expressed satisfaction with arrangements in line with the amended Electoral Act 2022 and hoped that the logistics arrangements put in place by INEC would not be affected by the current naira scarcity and hiccups in the delivery chain of petroleum products.
The pre-election meeting was supported by ANEEJ and Wife of the Edo State Governor, Mrs. Betsy Obaseki.
In a declaration issued at the end of the meeting tagged “Gelegele Declaration on the 2023 General Elections”, the CSOs noted INEC’s improvement of its system through the Bimodal Voters’ Accreditation System (BVAS), which should curb electoral malfeasance such as vote-buying and vote-trading.
They decried the threat to the elections posed by some outlawed organisations in parts of the country who have threatened to unleash mayhem during the elections. They called specifically on IPOB, Boko-Haram and ISWAP members to reconsider their stance and allow peaceful polls across the country.
The CSOs demanded zero tolerance to vote-buying by candidates for the 2023 elections and their supporters, charging them to refrain from all acts of vote-buying or vote-trading in any form whatsoever as it was capable of undermining the credibility of the electoral process.
“We call on security agents to provide top-notch security across the country to ensure that no form of violence is allowed to fester in any part of the country, particularly in flash points where insurgents have threatened to unleash mayhem,” the CSOs said in the declaration.
“Again, security agents deployed for the elections should promptly arrest anyone or group of persons found sharing money at polling stations or other designated election materials-sharing centres and venues. Security agents must be professional in the discharge of their election duties and must shun any form of inducements or act of corruption,” they said.
They further urged registered voters to adequately use their PVCs in the coming elections as in the belief that the election would change the story of the country for better once all eligible voter are allowed to freely exercise their franchise.
Participants at the conference were drawn from grassroots organisations, pro-democracy organisations, human rights groups, academia, feminist organisations, artisanal groups, and Persons Living with Disabilities (PLWDs).
