AMILOADED MEDIA HUB NEWS UPDATE
The Kimpact Development Initiative (KDI) and Osun State Peace and Mediation Working Committee have said the 2023 general election in Osun State was marred by violence and voter inducement, AMILOADED reports.
The groups, while speaking on the Election Violence Mitigation and Monitoring (EMM) project. at a press conference in Osogbo, Osun State on Thursday, said were violence in the state on the elections’ days.
They said 11 electoral violence cases were reported and documented during the general election in Osun State – four cases during the Presidential election and seven cases during the State House of Assembly poll.
KDI and the committee said over 50 individuals and one death was recorded during the elections, adding that the violence recorded were physical harm, attempted murder, politically motivated arrest, group clash, intimidation of voters, ballot box snatching and destruction.
They said, “The KDI EMM pre-election monitoring revealed that there had been 344 cases of electoral violence in Nigeria, leading to over 170 deaths between January 1, 2022, to February 17, 2023.
“Recall that we did call attention to the fact that Osun State is one of the state with the highest number of pre-election-related violence within this period. This is not disconnected from the fact that the state governorship was conducted within the period under review. This trajectory presents Osun State as one of the states at high risk of electoral violence in southwestern Nigeria.
The pre-election environment was characterized by the destruction of political party billboards, harassment of candidates and voters, attacks on political party offices, and frequent incidents of mob violence. All this attests to the fierce political competition.
“The KDI/EVMM Data Room report shows that there were pockets of violence tracked and documented in the state on the elections’ days. 11 electoral violence cases were reported and documented during the general election in Osun State – 4 cases during the Presidential election & 7 cases during the State House of Assembly.
“Cumulatively, these incidents of violence impacted over 50 individuals and one (1) death was recorded in the process. w. Thie tried tory The form of violence tracked and documented include Physical harm, attempted murder, politically motivated arrest, Group clash, Intimidation of voters, ballot box snatching and destruction. Ila, Atakunmosa East, Atakunmosa West, Ilesha East, llesha west, Ede South, Ife South and Osogbo were LGAs that predominantly experienced this violence.
“The major perpetrators of this electoral violence are party thugs, and sometimes, security agents are accomplices. We condemned this in its entirety. It is saddening to have still records of rising cases of ballot box snatching and carting away of election materials by hoodlums; We are worried it is setting a negative trend for governance and democracy in the country, and we hope we are not back to the inglorious days of ballot box snatching and other undemocratic skirmishes.”
Speaking on voter inducement, the groups said, “We condemned vote buying in any form. One would have thought the Naira redesign and scarcity of physical cash would play a major role in curbing vote buying.
“Yet the political class device means to see that voters were inducement in different forms. Party agents of various political parties orchestrated 73% of this act openly, and security agents were present in most polling units where vote-buying cases occurred. Agents of political parties were seen inducing voters with materials things, and money ranging from A500 – A5,000.
“KDI is concerned with the sense of impunity most political party agents are using to buy votes at PU- the secrecy of the ballot is often jeopardised- which is against the tenet of democratic elections. We fully commend the arrest of some vote traders made towards the elections. We urge that this should not stop at that – there should be a prosecution.”
The groups, therefore, called on the government to investigate and hold accountable all those responsible for any acts of violence or electoral malpractice during the 2023 elections.
“It is crucial that justice is served, and perpetrators are held accountable for their actions.
“We remain committed to promoting democracy, human rights, and good governance in Nigeria and will continue to support efforts to strengthen our democracy,” they added.
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