TRANSITION MONITORING GROUP WARNS ELECTORATES AGAINST VOTE SELLING

She also noted that, with the voters’ turnout for the recently concluded Governorship Elections in Ekiti State at about 44 percent, there is the need for increased voter education campaign on the need for citizens to collect their PVCs and vote on Election Day.

The Group enjoined the Nigerian Police, State Security Service, Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps and other major election monitors to subdue the issue of voter inducement across the state ahead of the elections.

Penpushing reports that, the monitoring group called on the National Orientation Agency and other Civil Society Organizations to intensify voter education to mitigate vote buying. 

 “Citizens must know that their votes are valuable assets that the votes should be guarded jealously. More so, vote buying is an electoral offense which undermines the legitimacy of elections and weakens representative democracy. We, therefore, urge the citizens of Osun to come out on Election Day and vote for the right candidate that will move the State forward’.

The Group said it appreciates the commitment of the security agencies to the electioneering process, and also enjoined them to ensure adequate deployment of personnel to maintain law and order at the polling units and to ensure arrest and prosecution of perpetrators of electoral offenses.

The Chairperson said, as part of the group’s commitment to promoting free, fair as well as effective and accountable management of the election, it will observe the 2018 Osun State Governorship election.

‘TMG in collaboration with its members will deploy citizen observers across the thirty (30) LGAs in the State to observe the Election Day processes and conduct of the security and other stakeholders during the election’, Akiyode-Afolabi stated.