Sidebar

Exclusive Reports

29
Fri, Mar

Violent Campaigns: INEC Chairman Summons Political Parties

Trending
Typography
  • Smaller Small Medium Big Bigger
  • Default Helvetica Segoe Georgia Times

Worried by the incessant violence clashes at campaigns and growing resort to incendiary comments barely three weeks after signing the Peace Accord, the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Mahmood Yakubu, has summoned a meeting with leaders of political parties. Yakubu who disclosed this in Abuja on Tuesday, during the training of master trainers on election technology for the 2023 general election, described the development as worrisome. He cautioned parties and their supporters to focus on issues and steer clear of attacks on each other. This is coming barely 24 hours after the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) campaign was attacked by suspected thugs in Kaduna State. Ahead of the commencement of the campaigns on September 28, there had been hostile and abusive verbal exchanges between the supporters of the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu and the Labour Party flag bearer, Peter Obi.

An incident wherein members of Pyrates Confraternity who were mocking a leading presidential candidate in a song was captured on video and shared online. The development attracted anger and condemnations across the country.

Following these incidents, the police cautioned politicians and their supporters against engaging in hate speech and cyberbullying and threatened to prosecute violators by relevant laws, adding that they could be charged under the Cybercrime (Prohibition, Prevention, etc) Act, Electoral Act or even Terrorism (Prevention) Act, depending on the content of the speeches.

Worried by these ugly trend Yakubu, warned that parties, candidates and their supporters should “not by acts of commission or omission further complicate the prevailing security situation in the country.”

He said, “Even as the commission is working hard to ensure a credible process in the forthcoming elections, reports of clashes among parties and their supporters in some states of the country during the ongoing electioneering is worrisome.

“So too is the reported denial of access to public facilities for parties and candidates in some states of the federation. Let me caution parties and their supporters to focus on issues and steer clear of attacks on each other.

“These are not only violations of the Electoral Act 2022 but also negate the voluntary commitment by all political parties and candidates to the letter and spirit of the peace accord signed about three weeks ago under the auspices of the NPC.”

“Parties, candidates and their supporters should not by acts of commission or omission further complicate the prevailing security situation in the country. A peaceful electioneering campaign is critical to the conduct of peaceful and credible elections.

“The Commission will continue to monitor the situation closely and will convene a meeting with leaders of political parties next week to discuss, among other issues, the imperative of peaceful campaigns and equal access to public facilities.

“In same vein, the Commission will also meet with the security agencies under the auspices of the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES) next week.”

BLOG COMMENTS POWERED BY DISQUS