Group urges INEC to evolve new approach for free, fair election

The leadership of the Independent Service Delivery Monitoring Group (ISDMG) has advised the chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Professor Mahmood Yakubu to evolve more pragmatic approach that will guarantee free, fair and credible future elections in the country.

ISDMG said from the recent elections conducted in Ondo and Rivers States, the electoral empire must deepen public engagement in future elections, especially ahead of the 2019 general election.

This was contained in election observation reports on the conduct of the 2016 Ondo State governorship election and the recent National and State Assembly rerun election in Rivers State.

Director, Mobilisation and Communication of ISDMG, Ms Faith Nwadishi, who made the reports available to newsmen during the weekend in Abuja, deplored the situation where politicians see conduct of election in the country as do-or-die affair.

The report also noted that unlike the recent elections in Edo and Ondo states, logistics arrangement for this rerun election was not encouraging.

Nwadishi said: “The Independent Service Delivery Monitoring Group, however, uses this medium to call on politicians, for the umpteenth time, to desist from desperate acts which are capable of over-heating the polity and, which most times, only bring about destruction of properties and senseless loss of precious lives.

“Specifically for Rivers state, we believe that political gladiators must show more maturity in their conduct and desist from the politics of do-or-die,” she said.

She equally condemned the observable use of security personnel to intimidate electoral officials and voters in some areas.

She said: “Pockets of violence ranging from dynamite explosions, to intimidation of election officials, ballot box snatching and outright death reported in Gokana LGA, characterised the election”.

Nwadishi, however, said reports from ISDMG field observers indicated that elections were quite peaceful and voter turn-out impressive except in some LGAs, including Gokana, Akuku-Toru, Andoni, Tai and Khana LGAs where violence were recorded.

She said: “The build up to this election was branded by the highest display of irresponsibility of politicians from all fronts in Rivers state due to their unguarded utterances and callous call for breakdown of law and order.

“This heightened the tension in the state ahead of the rerun polls and had hitherto, raised concerns of violence and abuse of the process.

“The politicians across parties have conducted themselves most despicably and have become agents of darkness and crass manipulation. The politicians are acting contrary to known norms of civilization and have aided and abated the disruption of the election process with clear intent to discredit the outcome of the election if not in their favour.

“It is high time the impunity of politicians, on this fact, be strongly addressed. Hate speeches and actions that are capable of compromising the electoral process must be severely dealt with. We call on all stakeholders to ensure that we bring sanity into the process.

“We hope that part of the much needed reforms of the electoral process will include the institution of a reprimand process that deters undue and reprehensible heating up of the polity either through actions or rhetoric.”