Vote buying and political intimidation are said to be characteristic dimensions of African election campaigns.
To this end, some political analysts in Anambra state have called for stronger collaboration among all stakeholders to combat electoral fraud in the November 8, Anambra State Governorship and other proposed elections in the country.
The respondents who made the call, while speaking with Radio Nigeria in Nnewi, advocated the adoption of two party system in the country to help solve the challenges of vote buying and thuggery.
Correspondent Onyinye Chijiobi who sampled the opinions of some residents has the rest of the story.
Nigeria’s democracy is said to be under threat, following the growing trends of vote buying and selling during elections.
Regrettably, capacity, character and competence which are parameters for assessing electoral candidates have somewhat been overtaken by the ugly trends.
The Major determinants of electoral choice is now predicated on the exchange of cash for
vote or what is termed see and buy practice.
Besides being illegal as
explicitly stated in Nigeria’s Electoral laws, vote buying also has a tendency to aggravate corruption in
public offices as those who hold public mandates are made to seek corrupt means of enriching
themselves towards future elections.
Vote buying is prohibited in Nigeria by Article 130 of the Electoral Act 2010 and in section VIII (e) of the 2018 Revised Code of Conduct for Political Parties.
A Political Analyst, Professor Ifeanyi Ojukwu, while lamenting the increasing cases of
vote buying, urged key players to wake up to their responsibilities and do what was necessary for the advancement of Nigeria’s democracy.
Professor Ojukwu questioned the roles played by other stakeholders, particularly the media, security agencies and civil society organisations during elections as regards to vote buying.
Another Political Analyst, Mr Chinaza Mandela who said that vote buying has become the order of the day, challenged stakeholders to take the lead in voter education and enlighten the public on its implications for the electoral process.
He stressed that INEC alone cannot reduce or eliminate the menace of electoral malpractice such as vote buying, ballot box snatching, thuggery and violence without the involvement of other stakeholders.
For her part, Mrs Uju Moses who lamented the pressure to the electoral process due to vote buying, urged government, religious leaders and political actors to actively participate in safeguarding the integrity of elections.
Mr Kenneth Osuji asserted that
one out of five Nigerians is personally exposed to vote buying and the threat of electoral violence.
Mr Osuji maintained that the effects of vote buying were long suffering and hardship on the people as incompetent persons were elected.
On why some people engage in vote buying, Mrs Amaka Okah and Mrs Helen Ekwunife noted that it was due to ignorance.
For Mr Amaranna Onwuagba, it would be difficult to eliminate vote buying in Nigeria because of the poverty level of the citizens.
However, the respondents believe that only free, fair and credible elections can help promote democracy, human rights and security as fraudulent polls have the potential to trigger political instability
and violence.
