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| [FILE PHOTO] Voters during election |
Ahead of today’s elections, The Human Rights Advancement and Development Centre (HURIDAC) has launched a human rights reporting platform for rights violations and abuses during the poll.
The launch, the body said, was to forestall occurrence of humans rights abuses during the poll because of the importance of the election as it subjects those contesting in the election to the verdict of the voters.
HURIDAC’s programme Officer, Paulson Okezie, yesterday urged election management bodies and security agencies to ensure the protection of the Right to Vote of Nigerian Citizens and the right to vote and the opportunity that elections provide combine to infuse human rights into democratic process.
HURIDAC election team Lead, Shina Loremikan said elections must guarantee the exercise of freedom of opinion, association, expression, non-discrimination, and the use of the secret ballot box system. Reports can be sent to votersrights@huridac.org or via WhatsApps to 0813243 8551.
Another group, Greater Onitsha Foundation (GOF) has charged electorates to exercise their civic responsibilities and vote credible leaders to move the nation forward.
The foundation seeks to enlighten residents within and outside the Onitsha Metropolis about their civic rights and duties as well as protect such rights by serving as a watchdog at all levels especially the state and local administration during and after elections.
The foundation, founded by a group of 12 professionals urged everyone to go out and vote and defend their votes.
Towards the realisation of the Transition Monitoring Group (TMG) mandate to support processes, the group is working with Human and Environmental Development Agenda (HEDA) and collaborating with major stakeholders such as National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and Women Advocates Research and Development Center, (WARDC), Police Service Commission and Independent Corruption Practice Commission (ICPC).
The consortium is dedicating a platform for observation and reporting of vote buying, voter inducement and other infractions on extant electoral laws.
The platform situated at Radisson Blu Hotel, Ikeja, Lagos, will be open for 24 hours and the initiative is a strategic response to the threat posed by vote buying, and other manifestations of electoral corruption, capable of undermining the credibility and integrity of the polls.
Also, the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP) has called on federal authorities and the Ogoni people to ensure that today’s elections and subsequent elections are peaceful and free from any every of violence.
In a signed statement by the group’s president, Fegalo Nsuke, he said MOSOP is very concerned about the use of soldiers to harass and intimidate voters and political opponents and urged government, voters and party supporters to ensure a free and peaceful conduct of all elections.
“It our hope that this election will mark a departure from our previous experiences where military crackdown led to the death of many and voters were intimidated and chased away. We call on Ogonis to be courageous and exercise their voting rights freely and charge all voters to conduct themselves peacefully for the sake of Ogoni and our country Nigeria,” he said.
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The launch, the body said, was to forestall occurrence of humans rights abuses during the poll because of the importance of the election as it subjects those contesting in the election to the verdict of the voters.
HURIDAC’s programme Officer, Paulson Okezie, yesterday urged election management bodies and security agencies to ensure the protection of the Right to Vote of Nigerian Citizens and the right to vote and the opportunity that elections provide combine to infuse human rights into democratic process.
HURIDAC election team Lead, Shina Loremikan said elections must guarantee the exercise of freedom of opinion, association, expression, non-discrimination, and the use of the secret ballot box system. Reports can be sent to votersrights@huridac.org or via WhatsApps to 0813243 8551.
Another group, Greater Onitsha Foundation (GOF) has charged electorates to exercise their civic responsibilities and vote credible leaders to move the nation forward.
The foundation seeks to enlighten residents within and outside the Onitsha Metropolis about their civic rights and duties as well as protect such rights by serving as a watchdog at all levels especially the state and local administration during and after elections.
The foundation, founded by a group of 12 professionals urged everyone to go out and vote and defend their votes.
Towards the realisation of the Transition Monitoring Group (TMG) mandate to support processes, the group is working with Human and Environmental Development Agenda (HEDA) and collaborating with major stakeholders such as National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and Women Advocates Research and Development Center, (WARDC), Police Service Commission and Independent Corruption Practice Commission (ICPC).
The consortium is dedicating a platform for observation and reporting of vote buying, voter inducement and other infractions on extant electoral laws.
The platform situated at Radisson Blu Hotel, Ikeja, Lagos, will be open for 24 hours and the initiative is a strategic response to the threat posed by vote buying, and other manifestations of electoral corruption, capable of undermining the credibility and integrity of the polls.
Also, the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP) has called on federal authorities and the Ogoni people to ensure that today’s elections and subsequent elections are peaceful and free from any every of violence.
In a signed statement by the group’s president, Fegalo Nsuke, he said MOSOP is very concerned about the use of soldiers to harass and intimidate voters and political opponents and urged government, voters and party supporters to ensure a free and peaceful conduct of all elections.
“It our hope that this election will mark a departure from our previous experiences where military crackdown led to the death of many and voters were intimidated and chased away. We call on Ogonis to be courageous and exercise their voting rights freely and charge all voters to conduct themselves peacefully for the sake of Ogoni and our country Nigeria,” he said.
In this article: