-Precious Ahiakwo-Ovie
A non-governmental organization, the Community Initiative for Enhanced Peace and Development is asking the electorates to come up with evaluations of the 2023 general elections as to identify areas that needs improvement.
The Executive Director of the Community Initiative for Enhanced Peace and Development CIEPD Egondu Ogbalor made the call during a one day Election Debriefing in collaboration with PIND, in Port Harcourt.
She said “Apart from de-escalating the incidents that can mar governance, following the announcement of election results, electoral stakeholders should initiate evaluations of the past electoral cycle in order to identify areas that need improvement. So I call on all security sector agencies, media, and other CSO to join hands with CIEPD in evaluating the infrastructures for peace for subsequent more peaceful elections”.
Egondu Ogbalor also said the Election debriefing is to set agenda for a better peace process for the next cycle of the election.
“Although this meeting may be therapeutic for some – who might want to use this opportunity to vent their anger and frustration with the electoral process (is allowed) but more importantly for us is to evaluate the electoral peace infrastructure and set agenda for a better peace process for the next cycle of the election.
On their part, Representative of the Rivers State Residence Electoral Commission, the INEC Public Affairs Officer Geraldine Ekelemu, said: INEC is set to start post preview of election post violence across the country. She however said the records of causalities in past elections compared to the 2023 elections is less.
“INEC conducted a peaceful election in Rivers State, irrespective of the outcome, and the Electoral Tribunal is ongoing to review any aspect that is challenged at the general election.”
Meanwhile some Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) that monitored the recent elections are calling for the removal of the chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
The election monitors said INEC betrayed the confidence of many Nigerians in democracy because of the failure of the BVAS machine everybody was made to trust to make votes count.
Other agencies who attended the debriefing include, the Police, Civil Defence, and various civil society organizations and election peace monitors.
Comment here