Ahead of the conduct of party primaries by political parties to pick candidates for Anambra Governorship elections, Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Mahmood Yakubu, has tasked Civil Society Organisations to show more than passing interest in the party primaries.
The INEC Chairman gave the charge on Tuesday at a consultative meeting between his Commission and CSOs.
Aside from addressing vote buying on election day, Professor Yakubu decried “the incidence of delegate-buying by aspirants during primaries” and tasked the CSOs to collaborate with relevant law enforcement agencies to curb it.
He said: “I would like to urge civil society organisations to be as interested in party primaries as you are actively engaged in the monitoring of secondary elections conducted by INEC.
“After all, only the candidates nominated by the political parties are placed on the ballot paper for citizens to vote for on Election Day. From your monitoring reports as accredited election observers, you have consistently expressed concern over vote-buying at Polling Units during elections.
“Some of you have made actionable recommendations on how to curtail the menace which have been favourably considered by the Commission. It is time to cast your net wide by focusing on the incidence of delegate-buying by aspirants during primaries.
“Some delegates openly boasted of how much money they made from aspirants during party primaries. You should intensify your advocacy in support of the practical steps taken by the relevant security and law enforcement agencies to tackle this diabolical practice.”
In his remarks, Ezenwa Nwagwu, who spoke on behalf of the CSOs, promised to “work closely with INEC and other stakeholders to ensure that the electoral process is free, fair, and credible”.
