Stakeholders chart path to violence-free election

AS part of efforts aimed at ensuring that the governorship and state house assembly elections holding tomorrow is credible and violence free in Lagos State, one day multi-stakeholders parley was held in Agege during the week.

The multi-stakeholders’ parley was organized by the International Press Centre (IPC), Lagos under an election and democratic governance project tagged: Strengthening Citizens’ Engagement in Electoral Processes (SCEEP) by ACTIONAID Nigeria, funded through the Department for International Development (DFID).

Participants including representatives of the media, Non Governmental Organizations (NGOs), disability groups, Community Based Organizations (CBOs), religious groups, youth associations, women groups, security agencies, student groups and other institutional stakeholders were in attendance.

At the end of the conference, the participants came with different recommendations for critical stakeholders that they felt would ensure that the election is credible and violence free.

For instance, they enjoined the electorate to conduct themselves in an orderly manner at the polling unit and adhere to all rules and processes related to voting including safeguarding their PVCs, vote on Election Day and ensure their votes are counted.

“The electorate should allow priority voting for the aged, pregnant women and people living with disabilities.  The electorate, beyond political party and political candidates preferences should work with a common purpose that ensures that the elections is conducted in a peacefully and orderly manner.

“Community based groups and associations should provide enabling environment for the voting processing, e.g. providing chairs and temporary shelter for the aged and pregnant women to sit and wait after accreditation, etc.

“The youth should resist attempts by politicians and parties to use them as tools to perpetrate electoral malpractices and violence. Religious leaders should preach and pass the message of violent free and peaceful elections during services.”

For the political parties, it was suggested that the candidates and their parties should adhere strictly to the rules of the game and desist from fomenting electoral violence and accept the outcome of the elections in good faith.