Febuary 23,2011
Williams
Ekanem
Members of the Council for Youth Empowerment, a
nongovernmental organization involved in pro-democracy and youth development
are to surreptitiously video proceedings during the April 2011 general
elections in Nigeria.
Co-founder of the group, Mr. Reno Omokri disclosed
who disclosed this on Tuesday in Washington D.C said over 200 members of the
group will be scattered all round the country to get stealthily video details
of events during the fourth coming elections for firs hand assessment of the
elections.
In his speech as a guest speaker at a public event
on “Can Nigeria Hold Credible Elections “ co-sponsored by the United States
Institute of Peace and
Africare, Omokri listed threats to the April general
elections in Nigeria to include compromised officials of the electoral body,
the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), ethnic religious tension
in the country as well as tension in the judiciary.
In his opening remarks at the function which
attracted a number of Nigerians and foreign nationals, another guest speaker,
Professor Peter Lewis said the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has
incumbency advantage in the elections in which about 63 parties are
participating.
According to Lewis who is an associate professor and
director of African studies at John Hopkins University School of Advanced
International Studies the active involvement of inner circle activist whose
interest is very far from national interest questions the credibility of the
forth coming elections.
Giving a rundown of events that lead to the current
state, he pointed out that most vocal opponents of the Jonathan / Sambo group
have since gravitated to the group they were so strongly opposed to before and
during the primaries.
Lewis is of the opinion that although early
pronouncements by President Goodluck Jonathan on the need for credible elections, Jonathan’s candidacy in
spite of the opposition has further raised questions on his intentions.
The John Hopkins professor listed the reinvigorated
civil society groups in Nigeria, self-interested political actors and negative
use of party machinery as factors that may impinge on the credibility of the
elections.
Coupled with the increasing use of money to buy
votes, Lewis said he is cautiously optimistic about the outcome of the elections.
In his intervention, Dave Peterson said that for the
first time in Nigeria’s voting history, a credible voters register is in place,
even though he raised great on what he called the new paradigm where ruling
political parties embark on spending spree.
Peterson, who is the senior director of the Africa
Program of the National Endowment for Democracy, a privately-incorporated,
publicity-funded grant-making organization in Washington, expressed optimism
that there is relatively a huge improvement in the preparation towards the
elections.
He however frowned at what he called “the imposition
of candidates during the primaries.”
Nigeria Ambassador to the United States, Ambassador
Adefuye told the gathering the elections in Nigeria would be very credible
because there is a great yearning for free and fair elections in the country.
According to the Ambassador, “as it now, Nigerians
feel insulted that it is now bug by elections malpractices even though the
country conducted a world acclaimed free and faire elections in 1993, although
the results were annulled by Ibrahim Babangida.”
He dismissed comments that President Jonathan lacks
political experience pointing out that Jonathan has held political positions
from the councils, to State, vice president and now President wondering what
kind of experience people are talking about.
Nigeria’s 2011 elections will mark the fourth multiparty polls if power transfer
occurs, only the second hand over of civilian administrations since the
country’s return to democracy in 1999.
Past elections have featured political
assassinations, voter intimidation, intra-and inter-party clashes and communal
unrest.
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