Election voter
PSN,
Election voter
PSN, Stakeholders decry militarization of election
processes in Nigeria
Stakeholders at the recently concluded Peace and Security
Network (PSN) quarterly Confab series has called for a stop in the
use of heavy security presence during the 2019 General
elections.
The stakeholders warned against the repeat of 2015 general
elections and the 2019 governorship elections in Osun and Ekiti
where security agencies where used as ” agents of intimidation
through heavy-handed militarization”.
This was contained in a Communique issued at the end of the
confab series in Abuja on ” Securitization of The Electoral Process
and Prevention of Violence Towards the 2019 Elections”.
The stakeholders also urged security agencies to focus on the
states and the local governments to strengthen interagency
activities as well as collaborate with peace committees at the
local level.
Going forward, the stakeholders also recommended an Inter-agency
Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES) meetings
conducted between different security agencies towards the success
of the 2019 elections at the national and publicized and critical
outcomes shared to sensitize and build confidence of the
electorates.
Further, political parties, CSOs and Independent National
Electoral Commission(INEC) where urged to adapt globally accepted
good practices by
deepening the sensitization of citizens prior to the elections to
ensure transparency, confidence building, peace and security.
On conflict resolution, the communique recommended the adoption
of mediation as a way of unbundling the legal systems and avoiding
delays in obtaining justice.
The meeting was attended by several stakeholders cutting across
Civil Society groups, Security Agencies, Diplomatic missions
including the US ambassador, Police Service Commission, the
Governing Council of the Institute of Peace and Conflict Resolution
(IPCR) and members of the PSN from the six geopolitical zones in
Nigeria coordinated by Mr. Adeolu Adewumi.
By PRNigeria