Election monitoring bodies, the International Republican Institute (IRI) and National Democratic Institute (NDI) have warned that insecurity and vote-buying could pose major threats to the 2019 general elections. Addressing a joint press conference in Abuja yesterday, Dr. Christopher Fomunyoh of the NDI said the federal government should intensify efforts to address insecurity in the country.
“The government should enforce the law with regard to illegal activities such as vote-buying on election day wherever it occurs and ensure sufficient time for INEC to implement electoral changes by signing into law the Electoral Act Amendment Bill before August 16 in accordance with the ECOWAS protocol.
“Political parties should conduct transparent and democratic candidate selection processes that adhere to their by-laws and policies and initiate issue-based campaigns that address national priorities such as security, the economy and governance,” he said.
Dr. Pauline H. Baker, the President Emeritus, Fund for Peace (USA) called for the establishment of an Electoral Offences Commission ahead of the polls, adding that all political parties should imbibe issue-based campaigns.
Baker also asked INEC to carry out extensive campaigns on the need for citizens to collect their PVCs in good time.
