The Director General of the Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution (IPCR), Dr. Joseph Ochogwu, has called for violent-free elections in Imo, Bayelsa and Kogi states holding on Saturday, November 11, 2023.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) will on Saturday, November 11, 2023, conduct the Imo, Bayelsa and Kogi states governorship elections.
In a statement signed by Esther Ndukwe on behalf of the body, the off cycle elections present peculiar challenges because of violence in some of the states.
During the campaigns, pockets of violence were noticed. The attitude by some political stakeholders to unleash violence should be stopped, because it has the capacity to distort the credibility of an election.
The key actors in this election have the responsibility of ensuring that the election is violent free. They also have the responsibility of ensuring that people come out to vote to avoid voters aparthy.
The key actors in the elections should ensure that the credibility of the elections is not questioned. They should play by the rules.
The Army, Police and other security agencies have promised to ensure that the elections are violent free, but the stakeholders in the election should on their part ensure that their supporters maintain peace during and after election.
At least 18 political parties taking part in Saturday’s governorship poll in Imo state have signed a peace accord to eschew violence before, during and after the exercise.
Signing of peace accords alone cannot guarantee peace. The actors involved in the elections should ensure that the peace accord signed is followed with action.
“The Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution calls for violent free, rule based elections, so that the credibility of the elections is not questioned.
“The key actors should play by the rules. Election is not a do or die affair. You have to be alive to be in politics. Politics is not done in isolation. The key actors should have it at the back of their mind that nothing can be achieved with violence,” she said.