By Gift Olivia Samuel, The Sight News
ABUJA: The Centre for Democracy and Development’s Election Analysis Centre (EAC) has expressed worry over the quantum of violence that characterized the 2019 elections.
This is just as the Centre revealed, that a total of thirty (30) people have so far been killed across the country, adding that Armed thugs turned their guns on citizens and opposing political parties.
The Centre which made these known on Sunday while briefing newsmen on its definitive report on the 2019 general elections, stated also that the actions of armed bandits and Boko Haram insurgents were noticed in Katsina and Adamawa states.
In the report jointly signed by Prof. Adele Jinadu, Chair, CDD-EAC, and Idayat Hassan, Director, CDD, the Centre also noted with dismay the activities of security personnel around the country, who have been accused of interference in the electoral process and failure to protect electoral staff and materials.
“We flag the need to review the rules of engagement guiding the involvement of security personnel in election duties. It is saddening that a suspected ballot box snatcher was killed and that an aide to a candidate also lost his life to so-called accidental discharge”, they said.
Speaking on intimidation and abductions, the EAC pointed out that different forms of threats, harassment, intimidation and assault were reported during the elections, adding that their monitors on ground did not only report cases of intimidation but were victims, too.
According to them, “One of our observers was arrested by soldiers in the Mile 2 area of Lagos on his way to cover the protest over non-payment of allowances by ad-hoc staff. Political thugs slapped and abducted our observer at PU 2 Afaha Nsit ward of Akwa Ibom and later requested a ransom.
“Our observer was abducted by political thugs for reporting and sharing photos and permanent voter’s card of underaged voters in Polling Unit 15, Ward 04 of Shendam local government area of in Plateau state. He was later released. In a related incident, a politician slapped a BBC journalist in Lagos in a brazen show of power”.
In the area of electoral Irregularities, the EAC, stated that vote-buying remains a significant concern during the governorship and state houses of assembly elections.
“Buying and selling of votes prevailed despite the warning by INEC, security agencies and the anti-corruption agencies. On the ground, our observers reported seeing EFCC arresting people involved in vote-buying. For example, the EFCC arrested some prominent party stalwart in Benue and Kwara states.
“However, reports from our observers indicate significant role played by voters and politicians in the vote trading market. The trend, as we observed, is that voters are bargaining for a higher amount and sell their vote to the party with the ability to meet their demand. The trend is that votes traded from as low as N250 to N7,000”, they revealed.
The Election Analysis Centre also emphasized, that the weaponisation of abductions of INEC staff and the ad-hoc staff is worrisome and constitutes a drawback to the progress that has been made so far. “INEC officials were kidnapped and later released in Benue, Katsina, Kogi, Imo, Akwa Ibom and Rivers during voting and collation of results, with Katsina alone recording 20 cases of abductions”, they said.
“The EAC directs attention to the disturbing degeneration of our country’s competitive and electoral politics since the 2015 general elections, as exemplified in the securitisation, vote-buying and mindless violence witnessed during the Ekiti and Osun governorship elections and the just concluded 2019 general elections.
“Beyond electoral outcomes, the country needs to strengthen the process leading to and resulting in them, in a manner to create a fair playing ground for all political parties and a political and legal framework that will ensure electoral integrity.
The Election Analysis Centre, however expressed hopes in the resilience of the Nigerian voter’s commitment to democracy and the unfolding third force movement, both of which they emphasized, should be mobilized to make democratic elections a force for development, peace, human security and national integration in Nigeria.
