Mahmood Yakubu, chairman of the
Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), has warned against vote
buying in the forthcoming election in Bayelsa state.
Speaking during the commission’s
meeting with Bayelsa traditional rulers on Tuesday, Yakubu described vote
buying as selling Nigeria’s democracy in the open market.
Nigeria’s elections have always
been marred by vote buying, from state governorship elections to the recent
general election.
At the meeting held in Yenagoa,
Bayelsa state capital, Yakubu said vote buying is one of the major challenges
the commission faces during elections in the state.
He said: “Our first concern is
the actions and utterances that are likely to lead to the breach of peace
during the campaign, during voting on election day and during the collation of
results.
“Another challenge is the
recurring problem of vote buying. Our democracy cannot be on sale on the open
market; citizens should be allowed to choose whoever they wish to vote for on
election day without inducement.
“We are confident that with your
support, we will continue to stem this ugly trend of vote buying at polling
units on election day.
“We shall maintain our neutrality
as umpires; INEC is not a political party. INEC has no candidate in the
governorship election. The choice of who becomes the next governor rests
entirely in the hands of the people of Bayelsa state.”
‘BAYELSA NOT AN EASY STATE TO
CONDUCT ELECTIONS’
Yakubu, who was accompanied by
senior officials of INEC, also said Bayelsa is usually a tough terrain for the
conduct of elections.
“In 2015, out of the eight LGAs
in Bayelsa, we conducted elections conclusively and made declaration of results
only in one LGA,” he said.
“I am sure that with your
support, the whole of Bayelsa will become and that elections will be completed
peacefully on first ballot.”
In his remarks, Alfred Diete-Spiff, chairman of the traditional
rulers, expressed concerns over the presence of the military in the state
during the general election as well as the high number of internally displaced
persons in some parts of the state.
He said: “During the last
elections, some things were disturbing. The military presence was too much and
they were not only brought here by one or two candidates and were used, they
also eliminated one or two persons after the election.
“You will need to appeal to the
army in particular to try and contain their men so that they will not go off
the handle and scare people out of the polling units and also harm them.”
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