Election in Nigeria and it’s parts still bring concerns to the safety of citizens and the attention of the international communities, as it is either perceived as war or a event of national disturbance.
For this reason, the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project, SERAP, has issued a one-week ultimatum to the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to commence investigations into incidents of vote-buying.
SERAP also challenged INEC to make attempts to address ballot snatching, undue influence, intimidation, and other electoral offences by the three leading political parties.
This new mandate was informed by the recently concluded election in Ekiti State, precisely the gubernatorial polls that wasn’t without all of the aforementioned atrocities.
In a memo addressed to the INEC Chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu, speaking particularly about the in the aftermath of the Ekiti governorship elections, the group insisted that it’s high time the independent commission curtailed anomalies making voting look bad in Nigeria.
APC’s Candidate Wins Ekiti Guber Election
It would be noted that the All Progressives Congress, APC, emerged victorious, scoring 187,057 votes to defeat its closest rival of the Social Development Party, SDP, that scored 82,211 votes, while the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, got 67,457 votes to come third in the governorship race.
Deputy Director Kolawole Oluwadare, who issued the memo, urged INEC to “promptly and effectively prosecute those arrested, and bring to justice anyone who sponsored, aided and abetted them in the act of disrupting a smooth voting process.
