By Stellamaries Amuwa, Abuja
The Transition Monitoring Group (TMG) has called the attention of the public and government, especially the critical stakeholders on some issues to be addressed ahead of the Edo state governorship election.
This was made known at a press conference held on Tuesday in Abuja by the Group.
According to the Chairman TMG, Auwal Ibrahim Musa, he stated that “Our fellow citizens in Edo State will go to the polls on Saturday, September 21, 2024, to elect their State Governor, making it the fourth off-cycle election since the 2023 general election. With the experiences of the 2023 general elections and the off-cycle elections in Imo, Kogi, and Bayelsa still fresh in the minds of citizens, there is still skepticism regarding the credibility of elections in Nigeria.
“Unfortunately, this skepticism bothers the conduct of the Independent National Election Commission (INEC), the political parties and their candidates as well as the security agencies and party supporters. TMG is not only interested in observing elections but also interested in seeing how the elections translate to good governance. Hence, we have been monitoring the pre-election situations in Edo state. This press conference is coming off the back of very disturbing and worrisome occurrences in Edo as noted from TMG’s Pre-election Environment Situation Observation efforts ahead of the September 21st election.
“These occurrences do not only portend danger for the election but also leaves a big question mark on the ability of political parties in Nigeria to conduct its affairs democratically.
The Transition Monitoring Group (TMG) finds it necessary to call the attention of the public and government, especially the critical stakeholders on some of the issues and call for concerted efforts to address these obvious challenges ahead of the election.
Some of the issues include non-Credible Political Party Primary Election Political parties are the bedrock for political aspirations and participation in democracies like Nigeria’s. It is expected that political parties would present the first opportunity for free, fair, credible and participatory election to provide the platform for presenting credible candidates for election.
Auwal Ibrahim also noted, “Sadly also, it is the undemocratic nature of the party primaries that have always led to the barrage of court cases that accompany primary elections in Nigeria. In the end, a number of those cases have been decided on technical grounds that do not necessarily reflect the wishes of the electorate at the poll. It is therefore important for political parties to subject the primary elections through the right processes to reduce the incidence of courts deciding winners of elections. TMG believes strongly that elections should be decided at the polls and not the courts. We urge Edo people to participate fully in the governorship election to cast their votes for their preferred parties and candidates.”
