INEC decries growing conflicts within political parties
(Nigeria) The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC,
on Tuesday expressed concern over growing conflicts among contestants within
political parties.
The National Chairman of INEC, Prof. Attahiru Jega,
expressed the view in Abuja at the National Youth Conference on the roadmap to
the 2015 elections in Nigeria.
``INEC remains deeply concerned about widespread absence of
moderation among Nigerian politicians and growing conflicts within parties and
between contestants. This is because even if the management of elections meets
the highest standards, insofar as the contestants are unwilling to play by the
rules, there will be grave problem.
``The threats are now exacerbated by insecurity in some
parts of the country, making the conduct of elections in those parts even more
risk-prone,`` he said.
The chairman, represented by a National Commissioner of the
commission, Mr Ismail Igbani, appealed to politicians to avoid provocative
statement on the 2015 elections.
``If you listen to
comments of some politicians on 2015 general elections you will assume that
Nigeria is preparing for war,`` he said.
The chairman said the use of language by some politicians
was in most cases `` indecorous and encouraging supporters to follow suit with
more intemperate language``.
According to him, parties even find it difficult to select
candidates, which create a situation in which practically every nomination
process ends in a court case.
He said that the commission had on several occasions, got
either directly or vicariously involved in the conflicts and court cases.
`` Indeed, some pre-election court cases in the past have
threatened to derail preparations for elections. Of particular note is the
spate of ex-parte injunctions issued against the commission,`` Jega said.
He, however, stressed the need for active citizens’
participation in the political process to provide checks against impunity in
political culture.
Jega called on the youth to come out en-mass and register to
enable them to vote candidates of their choice in 2015 elections.
The Project Director, Democratic Governance for Development,
Dr Mourtada Deme, urged the youth to engage in the electoral process to give
them a strong political voice in the country.
Deme said that an inclusive democratic society should ensure
that youth participated in its affairs, stressing that effort should be made to
educate the youth on the importance of voting.
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