Northern Civil sociaty questions integrity of Feb. 25th Presidential, National Assembly elections

By Ibrahim Hamisu, Kano.

The Conference of Northern States Civil Society Networks held a press conference on Monday, to discuss the conduct of the February 25th Presidential and National Assembly elections in Nigeria.

The Conference, made up of civil society leaders from the 19 Northern States and the FCT, titled “The Conduct of Elections and the question of integrity” was held at Tahir Guests Palace Hotel, Kano.

The Group expressed disappointment with the conduct of the elections, which they claimed fell below the expectations of Nigerians.

They observed that the elections were marred by irregularities, including lack of internal democracy in political parties’ processes, institutionalized vote-buying, violence during campaign activities, mass electoral violence in some areas during the elections, and polarization of campaign activities along religious and ethnic lines.

The group identified peace and security, voting process, BVAs, and IReV as some of the key issues that dominated the elections.

They further called for a review of the electoral process and the implementation of the necessary reforms to ensure that future elections are conducted in a free, fair, credible, and transparent manner.

However the group stressed that, as we approach the governorship and state assembly elections, we urge the Nigerian citizens to not let their spirits be demoralized, and to turn out in large numbers to elect their governors and lawmakers peacefully. And also urge INEC to redeem itself by conducting a much more credible election on March 11, 2023 across the country.