Activists Recommend Implementation Of Past Election Committees’ Reports

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A coalition of civil society groups in Abuja have said that non-implementation of election committees’ reports and impunity have continued to encourage electoral malpractice and violence in Nigeria.

They said that if past committees’ reports on the prevention of electoral violence were fully implemented by government, the tensions ahead of the 2015 general elections would have been reduced.

The civil society groups noted that asides lack of implementation of past committees’ reports contributing to re-occurence of electoral violence in Nigeria, lack of punishment for perpetrators of electoral violence in the past is also a huge challenge to peaceful elections.

With about eight weeks to the elections, the activists said that there is need to meet candidates of prominent political parties before the polls.

The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Atahiru Jega, had severally raised concern over conducts of politicians as a threat to the conduct of a peaceful elections in February 2015.

Efforts to reduce tension and violence during the February elections had made Professor Jega to meet with stakeholders at different fora in December 2014.

During those meetings, Professor Jega repeatedly raised concern over the conducts of politicians and its implication on the elections in February.