FILE PICTURE: February 24, 2019
For Immediate Release
Abuja-Nigeria
6:00 pm
Wednesday, 10th June 2020
CLEEN Foundation Launches Election Security Support Centre for Edo and Ondo States Governorship Elections
1.0
Introduction
The Independent National
Electoral Commission (INEC) on the 6th of February 2020 announced
the dates for Edo and Ondo States governorship elections. While the Edo state
governorship election is scheduled to hold on the 19th of September
2020, Ondo state governorship election is slated for 10th of October
2020. Political Party primaries will hold from 2nd to 27th
of June for Edo State and 2nd to 25th of July 2020,
respectively.
In the face of the Coronavirus
pandemic, the Independent National Electoral Commission and other stakeholders are
currently deliberating ways that these elections can hold while following
public health and safety measures stipulated by the government and the Nigerian
Centre for Disease Control to curtail the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. Consequently,
the Independent National Electoral Commission has developed a guideline for
conducting elections under COVID-19 and has commenced engagement with various stakeholders.
This is with a view to eliciting wide stakeholders’ support and input and ensuring
it adequately addresses emerging concerns from stakeholders.
It is against this background
that the CLEEN Foundation is putting up measures to ensure a successful,
hitch-free and peaceful election in Edo and Ondo states through the following
activities:
2.0
Conduct of Security Threat Assessments
CLEEN Foundation will conduct
security threat assessments in Edo and Ondo States to support key stakeholders especially
the Independent National Electoral Commission and security officials with
empirical data for the deployment of manpower and other resources for the
elections. In addition, the Foundation will recruit, train and deploy volunteers
across all the local government areas in both states to observe, document and
report in real time, security incidents and threats to the upcoming elections.
The CLEEN Foundation will collate, analyze and disseminate the findings to relevant
stakeholders before, during and after the elections.
3.0
Deployment of Tella Human Rights Monitoring Application
CLEEN Foundation will deploy
the Tella Application, an ICT-based human rights platform for mapping of
security risk factors across the states through real time observation,
documentation and analysis of accredited observers’ reports on the conduct of
security officials during the elections.
The Tella Application will be scripted with key questions from the
Electoral Violence Mitigation and Advocacy Tool (EVMAT) developed by the
Electoral Institute of the Independent National Electoral Commission and CLEEN
Foundation with support from the UK Department for International Development. The
Electoral Violence Mitigation and Advocacy Tool was developed by electoral
stakeholders as part of the efforts to have a standardized tool for assessing
election-related security threats by stakeholders. It is important that security
officials on election duty in Edo and Ondo States maintain peace and order and
protect the rights of voters to exercise their right to vote.
4.0 Recommendations
From the foregoing, CLEEN
Foundation makes the following recommendations:
- The Independent National Electoral Commission
should work with the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control to review the Covid-19
regulations related to the conduct of elections during the pandemic.
- The Independent National Electoral Commission
should also ensure that Civil Society organizations interested in observing the
elections including party primaries are duly accredited.
- Security agencies and the Independent National Electoral
Commission should collaborate with the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control to
develop a guideline on policing elections during a pandemic.
- There should be specialized
training for security personnel to be deployed for election duty under covid-19
pandemic to ensure optimal performance.
- Political parties should ensure that their
primaries are free, fair and inclusive.
- The needs of citizens living with disabilities
in Edo and Ondo should be prioritized by INEC to ensure that they vote in
dignity.
- The National Orientation Agency and other government
institutions should intensify efforts in sensitizing and educating citizens in
Edo and Ondo States on how to exercise their franchise while following
government guidelines on physical distancing
- The Media, both print and electronic should be
given free hand to perform their duties and should be protected from
overzealous security agents and political thugs.
- There is urgent need to provide personal
protective equipment for security officers deployed on election duty during
covid-19 pandemic and their welfare should be made a priority.
The CLEEN Foundation is a
non-governmental organization established in 1998 to promote public safety,
security and justice in Nigeria through the strategies of empirical research,
legislative advocacy and demonstration program with government, civil-society
groups and the private sector. For more information please visit www.cleen.org
May God bless the Federal
Republic of Nigeria.
Benson Olugbuo, PhD
Executive Director, CLEEN
Foundation