Ahead of the Governorship and State House of Assembly election coming up on Saturday, 18th March, 2023, the Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution, IPCR has called on Nigerians to conduct themselves peacefully and avoid any form of violence during and after the election.
In a statement by the Director overseeing the office of the Director General of the Institute, Gabriel Jiya, he commended Nigerians for their peaceful conduct during the last Presidential and National assembly elections.
IPCR says it believes in the improvement of the electoral system and urges INEC to learn from the hitches experienced in the last presidential and National Assembly election.
The statement reads,
“As a public-oriented institution, the Institute believes in the improvement of our electoral system and therefore urges INEC to learn from the experience of the last presidential election in organising, conducting and ensuring that Saturday 18th March 2023 for the gubernatorial and Houses of Assembly election is both peaceful and credible.
“This is fundamental for democratic consolidation, representational governance, entrenching the culture of peace and sustaining the electorates’ confidence in the electoral process.
“We have also noted the conduct of the security agencies in mitigating violent incidents and securing the electoral space from the activities of political thugs and other criminal elements.
“Once again, the Institute urges the security agencies to improve on their election duty by being professional and civil in the discharge of their responsibility throughout the exercise in order to protect lives and property as well as safeguard the sanctity of the election.
“The Institute notes with appreciation the conduct of political parties, their candidates and supporters in receiving, appreciating and modestly celebrating the outcome of the presidential and National Assembly election, which is a sign of their firm belief in the capacity of the electoral process, including the judiciary, to deliver on credible outcomes. We call on them to continue to exercise confidence in the country’s democracy and support INEC in ensuring that the state-level election is both peaceful and credible.”
It urges security agencies to improve on their election duty by being professional and civil in the discharge of their responsibility throughout the exercise and advise INEC to continue to uphold the confidence in the country’s democracy in ensuring that the state level election is both peaceful and credible.
Story: Elizabeth Ereke