The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has asked political parties in Nigeria to shun misinformation and tone down negative rhetoric ahead of the two off-season elections in Edo and Ondo States.
INEC Chairperson, Mahmood Yakubu, stated this on Wednesday during the public presentation of the Inter-Party Advisory Committee Strategic Plan (2024-2028) in Abuja.
The event was hosted by the Westminister Foundation for Democracy (WFD) under the Nigeria Open Political Party (NOPP) project.
Mr Yakubu, who was represented by Kunle Ajayi, a national commissioner in INEC, said the political parties need to address the challenges of misinformation campaigns.
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“Beyond the primaries, we encourage IPAC to implore its members to tone down the negative rhetoric during campaigns and strongly appeal to their media warlords to shun the weaponisation of disinformation and spreading of fake news, as this tends to rile up religious, political and tribal sentiments, hence heating an already anxious and polarised society in the run-up to an election,” he said.
Speaking on inclusion, Mr Yakubu said political parties should deepen the inclusion of youth, women and persons with disabilities in their activities.
He urged IPAC members to mainstream the Not Too Young Run Act and the Women in Politics Charter of Demands.
“The Commission would like to draw the attention of the leadership of IPAC to the growing concern of the poor Inclusivity Index across party lines in Nigeria.
“The Commission has consistently advocated for an inclusive electoral process backed by section 54 of the Electoral Act and has implemented targeted interventions in partnership with CSOs and its development partners to bridge this gap. However, the onus is on the Political Parties and IPAC to take the lead in advancing the cause of Electoral Inclusivity in their various parties,” he said.
Mr Yakubu said the unveiling of the 2024-2028 SPA of IPAC is timely ahead of the two governorship elections in Edo and Ondo States because the content would help guide the actions of the political parties.
Deepen internal democracy— INEC
Mr Yakubu also urged the political parties in Nigeria to deepen the internal democracy and conflict resolution mechanism in their parties.
He stated that political parties spend huge costs on pre-election matters.
According to him, the conduct of parallel primaries and the emergence of multiple candidates cost political parties so much.
“We strongly urge political parties to deepen the practice of internal democracy as enshrined in their various party constitutions and guidelines to avoid acrimonious primaries.
“Increasingly, the conduct of parallel primaries and the emergence of multiple candidates is a frequent occurrence.
“Some of these infractions lead to unnecessary litigation among party members in which the commission is always joined and burdened as a party.
“May I reiterate here what I stated at the quarterly Political Party Meeting last week, that the legal fees and cost of producing Certified True Copies (CTs) of documents can be used more productively in other electoral activities by both political parties and the Commission,” he said.
The governorship election in Edo State will be held on 21 September, while that of Ondo State comes up on 16 November.
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