By Tonye Amachree
Many people today fully appreciate the fact that those who perpetrate electoral violence do incalculable harm, not only to the present generation but also to those in the future. But by far the most far-reaching implication of any form of breach during election is the exclusion of many voices, even long before the process of governance begins. This reality, no doubt, remains the cause of political tensions in most developing countries.
Given our proclivity for electoral violence, I had thought that the last 16 years of uninterrupted democratic experience would have significantly addressed this issue. To me, the fact that political contest is still not violent-free in Nigeria diminishes our efforts in building a country of our dream.
Except we are all prepared to live with the long and painful consequences of electoral violence, which is definitely not an option, every government has a duty to renew hope, not just in the electorates but also in the political process. And this is the expectation of many Nigerians at the moment.
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| KILLED APC MEMBER DURING THE GUBER POLLS IN RIVERS |
Agreed that some states in Nigeria may have over the years, experienced a comparatively better record in terms of conduct of elections, this cannot be said in all sincerity of states in South-South, particularly Rivers and Akwa Ibom where violent occurrences remain an issue of grave concern. Though violence and intimidation had been part of elections in these states for many years now, brutality was however taken to new heights in 2015 general elections. Rivers State particularly recorded countless cases of politically motivated deaths and cruelty across the length and breadth of the state.
At a personal level, the most upsetting part of electoral violence is that in the final analysis, everyone is a loser: the living, the unborn and even the dead that paid the supreme sacrifice. This is largely so because any political contest that is not violence-free obviously results in the emergence of unpopular and unacceptable contestants.
This correlation between credible elections and quality of governance addresses eloquently, issues of growth and development. Except there is magic, it will be absolutely impossible for purveyors of violence and others against fair political contest to provide any form of leadership that will be purposeful and beneficial to the great number of people.
This is already evident in the flashpoint states under review and the reasons are not far to seek. Anyone who bulldozes his way to any elective position, either for personal aggrandizement or for other vague reasons, clearly has no covenant with the people. Therefore that person is unaccountable and also at liberty to desecrate any political office he or she forcefully occupies. After all, his allegiance remains with the tiny clique rather than the general interest, and this ugly trend has continued unabated.
I think this is the major reason advanced democracies dispatch election monitors to developing countries to serve as independent observers. Over the years and even at the risk of intimidation and harm, these election monitors have effectively braced all odds and served as authentic and fair opinion against all forms of infractions during elections. That is why all over the world, their views are highly respected because they are forcefully unbiased.
What they found in Rivers State and Akwa Ibom, to say the least, was shocking and their damning verdict continues to provide insights on the monumental violence and fraud that occurred in the two states. But the negative report did not come as a surprise to many, especially for some of us who witnessed the elections.
Less than twenty-four hours after the election, international observers had called for outright cancellation of the election due to obvious violations by some actors and the election body, the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC. Humphrey Bakaren, leader of African Centre for Leadership Strategies and Development who spoke on behalf of the observers described the election as a sham.
I think it will be pertinent to state here that Bakaren and his colleagues specifically called for utter cancellation because of the level of violence and fraud. According to him, “we request all lovers of democracy to join us in calling for the outright cancellation of the phoney election. Unless this is done, we would have sown the seed that could eventually grow into providing a shade of fear and death over us”. The spokesperson added that INEC could not even meet the electioneering standard it set.
But Civil Society Network Against Corruption went a step further. In its petition to the Inspector-General of Police, the group specifically demanded for the arrest and investigation of Resident Electoral Commissioners in Rivers and Akwa Ibom States. The petition of CSNAC entitled “Demand for Urgent Investigation of Fraudulent Manipulations of Elections of April 11, 20
