Tina Amanda
The Movement for the Survival of Ogoni People (MOSOP) USA Chapter, has said that election observers and experts are already on ground, monitoring every activity to ensure a peaceful, credible, free, and fair election.
This is even as it rolled out a six-point demand as Nigerians decide their new leaders come March 25, 2023.
MOSOP made this known in a statement signed by its Media and Public Relation officer in Nigeria, Susan Serekara-Nwikhana.
In the statement, the group said that across the globe, election observation is regarded as a pillar of democracy-building crafted to advance transparency and integrity, and when correctly managed it stands to boost civic engagement, voter confidence, and election security.
It noted that without the proper guardrails in place, election observation can become a partisan or prejudicial tool used to disrupt orderly elections and undermine voter confidence.
The statement added that MOSOP is prepared to partner with both local groups and international experts to eliminate those barriers, change the public perceptions of citizens and support their voice in mainstream politics during the forthcoming election.
The group maintained that there should be strong laid down rules by the Federal government, INEC, and all the parties to ensure accountability and transparency in the administration of elections.
It further said that for maximum effectiveness, it is important the recommendations are considered as a unified set, stressing that Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as an umpire should know changes to one policy have upstream and downstream impacts for countless other parts of the process as there should be thorough checks and balances for easy transition.
“A free and fair election involves political freedoms and fair processes leading up to the vote, a fair count of eligible voters, who cast their votes at the ballots and acceptance of election results by all parties. We demand that there should be no forgery of voter’s card and polling booths should be permitted.
“We demand that the three tiers of Governments and INEC should exhibit free and fair election that plays critical roles in political transitions by advancing democratization and encouraging political liberalization, thereby helping to promote peaceful, democratic political transformation that lead to increased stability and prosperity.
“We demand immediate full restoration and expansion of the voting Rights Acts that will enable the poor and the less privileged citizens to vote.
“We demand an adequate funding for polling booths to accommodate the full participation of the electorate.
“We demand and challenge the idea that our economy rewards hard-working individuals, if only the millions of people in poverty had acted better, worked harder, complained less and prayed more, they would have been lifted up out of their miserable conditions.
“We demand both the Federal, State and local governments support the poor in order to reduce the crime rates in our communities,” the six-point demands read.
