Credible Elections Promote Peace, National Devt – HURAI

Executive director, Human Rights Awareness Initiative (HURAI) Dr Samuel Eziokwu has commended efforts to ensure credible elections in the country, saying that it promotes peace, stability, and national development.

A statement made available to LEADERSHIP yesterday ahead of the launching of the book titled: ‘’Credible Elections in United States and Ghana: Lessons for Nigeria’’ written by Dr Eziokwu, said transparency of election guarantees that each step is open to scrutiny and stakeholders can interrogate the process.

Eziokwu said inclusiveness ensures that elections must provide equal opportunity for all participants as voters and candidates.

He said accountability of elections warrants that every process must be held accountable, adding that there must be remedies in place and executed for violation of electoral laws, especially election related rights.

‘’Competitive election guarantees reasonable and equitable opportunities to compete to be elected into government office to be reflected in the electoral cycle devoid of violence, intimidation, etc.

‘’The book outlined other conceptual underpinning principles for credible elections like international law concept of credible election which sees periodic and genuine elections as rights of citizens; Passing electoral test for selection which every candidate must go through based on specified values of competence, character, capacity,’’ he said.

Justice Ibrahim Auta described the book in his foreword as “Challenge to nascent democracies to make and execute laws regulating elections, intentionally appoint credible election management body truly independent, give close attention to credible voters registration, voting, vote counting, transmission and collation of results.’’

Also, former Senate minority leader Enyinnaya Abaribe insisted that “since politics is the arena within which our fate as a nation will be decided, the book is a must read for both practitioners and citizens who as a duty must engage in politics. It explores a wide range of issues in elections and compares our processes with that of other climes within our sub-region and others outside our hemisphere.”