Group Identifies Politicians as Responsible for Election Problems in Nigerian
by Amby Uneze in Owerri
Senior Correspondent, Thisday Newspaper,Calabar

It has been identified that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) are not responsible for the many problems associated to elections in the country but the desperate politicians whose attitudes were to win at all cost, the Head of Mission of the International Organization for Sustainable Development (IOSD) Nigeria, Dr. Timothy Ihemadu has observed.

Speaking in a 2-day international workshop on "Enhancing the Credibility of Election Results" held at Imo Concorde Hotel, Owerri, Ihemadu expressed worries that the many elections that had been held in Nigeria were associated with malpractices, which were traced to the desperate moves by politicians in their quest to have it by all means.

"Our experience in Nigeria has shown that the Independent National Electoral Commission is not the problem, but desperate politicians are responsible for most of the problems experienced during elections in Nigeria, and it is my appeal that politicians in Nigeria should change their attitude towards elections, and once this is achieved, credibility of election results will be enhanced, he said.

The international workshop which was organized by EUCLID/IOSD in partnership with International Institute of Leadership and Governance (INILAG) was aimed at ensuring that credibility of election results are achieved in Nigeria, since credible results were of great significance to people's participation and sustenance of democratic values worldwide.

He added that once election results were not credible, the people would become wary of calls to cast their votes in future elections, since their believe would be that their votes were of no effect in determining the winner of such elections.

According to him, desperate politicians in their bid to win at all cost try to unduly influence voters or tamper with the election process by snatching ballot boxes, finance thuggery and bribe election officers and security operatives.

Ihemadu, therefore appealed to politicians to desist in such vices in order to experience credible election results in the country, noting that the workshop was targeted at ensuring that such vices are dispensed of in the country polity.

He said that EUCLID began in 2005 as an international university consortium with a strong Euro-African cooperation. The Consortium, he added was administered by IOSD and was recently constituted as an inter-governmental organization called EUCLID with three-member states in Africa.

In his paper titled "Logistic Management and Credibility of Election Results", Mr. Clinton Oluoma Omezi suggested amongst others that broad-based voter education was important to increase voter's knowledge and understanding of the election process; it can also address the lack of public confidence in the electoral system and increase accountability of election administrators and elected officials; voter information campaigns should be conducted to inform voters of basic information; and efforts should begin well in advance of elections.

He stated that INEC should plan and budget for a combination of printed materials and radio and television awareness programmes to be disseminated and broadcast through a variety of sources, while the Federal/State Ministries of Education should introduce Civic Education to the elementary and secondary curricula to address broad concepts undermining a democratic society, such as the respective roles and responsibilities of citizens, government, political and special interests, the Mass Media and the business and non-profit sectors.