The rights advocacy group, Human Rights Advancement, Development and Advocacy Centre (HURIDAC), has called on politicians in the country to actively engage in a peaceful, free and free electoral process, just as it tasked security agencies and the International Community to take proactive measures to address hate speech that can incite violence and disrupt social harmony amongst the citizens.
HURIDAC made the call on Monday, in collaboration with another rights group, the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), at a joint press conference, which took place in Ojodu, Lagos, and addressed by Executive Directors of the two bodies, Mr. Ayodele Ameen for HURIDAC and Malam Auwal Musa Rafsanjani (CISLAC) respectively.
The call, according to Hamed, was part of the 10-point recommendations by the two groups to address “Human Rights Violation and Abuses During the Conduct of Elections in Nigeria,” noting that the 2023 poll exercise, even though witnessed the lowest turnout of voters, but notwithstanding recorded the highest level of violence and killings, mainly by state actors.
Hamed, in his address, while calling for electoral justice, which he said should extend beyond the fairness and freedom of election, demanded that “accountability, compensation, and remedies should be provided for all victims and survivors of crimes committed during the electoral process.”
“Perpetrators of crimes and electoral infractions should be arrested, prosecuted, and punished to prevent impunity,” he said.
Other recommendations, according to the Executive Director of HURIDAC, include the need for the establishment of collaboration between Anti-corruption agencies and financial institutions “to monitor cash flow during the election period,” saying that alleged malpractices reported by any party should be thoroughly investigated and recommendations should be provided to prevent similar reoccurrence in the future.
“The Electoral Act should be periodically reviewed to incorporate additional rules, including increasing the maximum campaign spending time limit to reflect the reality of Nigerian money politics and inflammatory trends. Strict punishments should be enforced for bribery, corruption, and above campaign spending limits to deter future violations.
“The courts and judicial officers should be strengthened to deliver on their mandate more efficiently.
“The government, International Community, NGOs, Civil Societies, and relevant stakeholders should be engaged in strategic dialogues with security agencies and political parties before, during, and after the electoral process to prevent electoral violence. A comprehensive mitigation plan should be developed and implemented,” he said.
“INEC and policymakers should ensure that adequate training is provided to its staff and ad-hoc electoral staff on the effective use of electronic devices, such as BVAS, during the electoral process. Collation of results should also be done in a manner that enhances the efficiency and transparency of the Electoral Act.
“Government, INEC, Civil Society organizations, and donors should invest in human rights and Anti-violence training and capacity building for political parties. Tangible governance deliverables should be provided to make vote trading less attractive and reduce vulnerability to inducement,” he added.
Hamed described the joint report by HURIDAC and CISLAC on the human rights perspective of the 2023 polls in the country as a welcome development in the search for free and fair exercise in the near future, saying that it offered “a comprehensive exploration of the historical, political and legal background of elections in Nigeria, highlighting the human rights obligations of Nigeria to her citizens.”
Also speaking, Rafsanjani said the bodies had recorded the violation of the rights of people from campaigns to elections, which were carried out mainly by state actors.
“We have seen how thugs were hired, and opposition parties were not allowed to campaign, leading to injuries and killing of innocent Nigerians.
“If we do not make this known and report them, it would stop Nigerians from voting in the future. There are a number of recommendations. We hope that the recommendations will help strengthen the minds of Nigerians to participate in elections in the country.
If the recommendations were implemented, Nigerians will witness very active participation in the elections in the country,” he stated.
This was just as he urges the INEC to reign in on its staff who engaged in malpractices, including registering of under-age, among others, just as he also tasked the electoral umpire to make registration of voters a continuous exercise rather than “an event.”
Besides, Rafsanjani demanded that INEC must account for the money they had collected from the government to do the last poll exercise, saying that they must do this to retain the people’s confidence in them.
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