‘Violence Marred Kogi Polls, Cancel it Now’, Situation Room Urges INEC
POLITICS DIGEST – The Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room has called for the cancellation of the Kogi State Saturday’s election due to mass violence.
The convener of Situation Room, Clement Nwankwo, at a press briefing on Sunday, said the level of violence witnessed in the state as well as in Bayelsa State were unprecedented, alarming and raised questions about the credibility of the elections.
“With particular reference to the elections in Kogi State, the level of violence perpetrated by the two major political parties and politicians, evident sometimes in the collusion with security personnel, seriously undermined the elections, deterred voters and made the exercise a farce.
“Accordingly, Situation Room is calling for the cancellation of the entirety of the Kogi State elections conducted on 16 November, 2019,” he said.
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He said the violence made it difficult for voters to observe the usual practice of staying back after voting to observe counting and collation.
On the governorship election in Bayelsa State, Nwankwo said the Situation Room also witnessed “serious lapses, with high levels of violence perpetrated by political parties, again in collusion with security personnel and reports of “community voting” – a practice whereby political parties controlling particular areas compel overwhelming votes in favour of their party.”
He said Situation Room therefore called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to fully interrogate the election in Bayelsa State with a view to identifying the high incidence of malpractice that took place and reflect the genuine votes of the people.
“In the light of the security failures, violence, thuggery and general abuse witnessed in the elections, Situation Room calls for an urgent passage and implementation of an Electoral Offences Commission law to address all issues related to electoral abuse,” Nwankwo said.
