By HENRY KING (A CCYI Member)
What is electoral violence? Electoral violence is any harm to any person or property involve in the electoral process or the election itself during election period.
TYPE OF ELECTORAL VOILENCE
1 Pre-Election violence; this occur mainly at the stage of party primaries, where contestant from the same political party jostle to for tickets to become the party flag bearers. Experience has shown that at this stage thuggery, arson, shooting maiming is deployed to achieve a particular objective.
2 Violence during the election; snatching of ballot boxes and papers kidnapping or abduction of electoral officials and party agents, forcefully preventing voters from their franchise forcing electoral official to alter or deface results or sheet Occur in this type of electoral violence.
3 Post-Election violence; the third category which is post-election violence … and test in same manner as pre-election violence is usually perpetrated often time by looting, arson ………and want on destruction of life and properties and usually perpetrated by members of a political party that did not win the election.
CAUSES OF ELECTORAL VIOLENCE
1 partiality and corruption by electoral and security officials; Off cause when there is partiality and corruption by the security officials this will definitely lead to violence where sentiment is the order of the day, one party is being robbed in order to favour another, where the security official are now the ones stopping people from excessing their franchise, where security officials are the ones being bribe by corrupt politicians, where the election is being rigged in order to favour one party, all this will deliberately lead to election violence.
2 Unwilling to accept outcome; This is where vote of the people are being counted and result is being declared, but the people are not willing to accept the outcome, this happened in my place in 2011 between APGA and PDP, result was declared against PDP, but those supporting PDP were not willing to accept the outcome, and before we knew what was happening, some set of people paid by PDP to ferment trouble started scattering thing therefore, where people are not willing to accept outcome, this will definitely lead to violence.
3 Inflammatory Remarks by politicians; when a particular starts making an inflammatory remark against another politician or opponent, this may lead to violence.
4 Attempt to compromise election officials; when there is an attempt by the people or youths to compromise election officials from performing their duty, this may definitely leads to violence.
5 Thuggery in politics; this is one of the major thing that causes electoral violence in Nigeria, our politics is being clouded with thuggery, causes electoral violence during election period.
6 Ignorance and low civic education; This is the major factor that causes violence during election period, the level of ignorance is too looming in our land today especially among the youths when there is low or civic education among the people, people doesn’t know their right, they don’t know the know the right to do at the right time and at the right the right place, that is why you see people parading and misbehaving during election, because of lack of knowledge and lack of civic education.
HOW CAN WE COMBAT ELECTORAL VIOLENCE IN 2015 ELECTION?
1 Let there be civic education among the people; I believe that when there is civic education, people will know their civic right, the reason you see people causing trouble during election is because they are not educated, they lack civic education, that is why you see some people using their hand to violate their own civic right, just because there is no civic education, like the scripture says ‘my people are destroyed for lack of knowledge (Hosea 4:6) when knowledge is not in place, people will keep causing trouble here and there, I think that that the government or the electoral commission should carry out what I call civic education even before the election in order to maintain peace and harmony in the country in 2015 election.
2 Political sensitization; I suggest that the electoral commission should carry out political sensitization among the populace before the election, let people be sensitize on the importance of peace and harmony in the country let them be sensitize on the hamper and danger that violence will do in this nation, let them be sensitize about our politics, let them just be politically sensitized before the election in order to maintain peace and harmony in this election.
3 Adequate security; I believe, once there is adequate security during the election, those that their work is to cause trouble during voting will be aware of the consequences they are meant to face if they try nonsense, let there be adequate security in the streets in all pulling station during the election period, I believe that once there is adequate security with the help of God the election will be free and fair.
4 Independence of INEC; let there be pure independence of INEC, let the election just be free and fair, let the (INEC) be on their own, let them not be influence by any politician or political party, I believe with the independence and un-biasness of the INEC the election will not rigged, and when the election is not rigged, we will end up having free and fair election in 2015 election.
5 Availability of electoral material in all pulling station; this happened in my area in 2011 election, the electoral materials were not enough, and people were everywhere wanting to cast their vote but there were no more materials. The electoral officials were calming the people down, assuring them that the materials will soon arrive, and people waited and waited and were fussed off, and this later lead to violence in the polling booth, therefore I urge the INEC to make provision for enough electoral materials in all pulling station in 2015 election in order to maintain peace and harmony in the country.
