A civil society organisation, Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD), has warned that elections may not hold in the troubled parts of Nigeria in the 2023 general elections.
The group said the Anambra State election had showed that insecurity could mar the 2023 elections particularly in the North-West and South-East regions of the country where non-state armed groups continued to enhance their capacity to threaten the state security.
This was contained in a post-election report released on Monday by the group in Abuja.
CDD commended the resilience of the thousands of voters who, in spite of the atmosphere of fear and uncertainty, exercised their democratic right to vote for a candidate of their choice.
“For the thousands of citizens who defied the odds to cast their ballots, it was clearly a display of the determination to perform their civic responsibility.
“This was in spite of the atmosphere of fear and uncertainty that persisted even after the last-minute announcement of the cancellation of the sit-at-home order by the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).
“The Anambra election has demonstrated how challenging conducting elections in a fragile security context can be. Although the election was conducted as scheduled, there is little disagreement about the security threat under which it was held.
“The militarisation of what ought to be a civic activity and the fears it generated among voters, and uncertainty among critical election stakeholders, including INEC and the electorate, show how worsening insecurity in the Southeast took a toll on the democratic process in Anambra.
“As we set sights on the 2023 General Elections which are less than two years away, CDD is concerned that if deliberate remedial action is not taken, elections may not hold in troubled parts of the country, particularly Northwest and Southeast Nigeria where non-state armed groups continue to enhance their capacity to threaten the state security.
“We call on the federal government to take urgent measures to address worsening insecurity across the country to ensure that the 2023 elections are not undermined,” the group added.
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