By Abdullahi Alhassan Kaduna
Interfaith Mediation Center Kaduna office, in collaboration with Kaduna Peace Commission (KAPECOM), has sensitized stakeholders, including Civil Society Organizations, Religious Faithfuls, Community Peace Observers (CPOs), Media Chief Executives, Pastoral Resolve (PARE), National Human Right Commission (NHRC), and Pastoral Resolve (PARE) to the importance of conflict prevention before, during, and after the 23 local government elections.
“We dim it appropriate at these critical times in the history of Kaduna state, seeing reactions of heated political tension in some local government areas of the state within the last few months,” Mallam Abdullahi Muhammad, from the Interfaith Mediation Center Kaduna, said during the awareness campaign meeting.
“We are confident, however, that political parties, traditional religious leaders, institutions, followers, and members of the Society can play a role in the prevention of electoral violence, by being proactive in educating and appealing to their membership on non-violence electoral processes through a commitment that ensures people’s rights to exercise their franchise in the democratic Session.”
He asked all parties to continue to reject all forms of violence and to display the greatest moderation in their actions and utterances by avoiding provocations such as violence and violent speeches, and to resolve their disputes via peaceful means. To reduce tension and suspicion, the Kaduna State Independent Electoral Commission (KADSIECOM) should guarantee that electoral materials arrive at polling stations on time.
“We also asked the state’s Independent Electoral Commission to ensure that the elections are free, fair, and credible and that they are held under the necessary conditions of transparency and credibility, including full and effective participation of eligible voters at all stages. and to provide persons with disabilities extra treatment as they turn out in droves to express their civil rights during elections,”
Citizens should always fact check social media election results from the Electoral Umpire, citizens should be on the lookout by reporting any suspicious activities to security agencies before, during, and after elections, and traditional media organizations should strive to disseminate information that does not incite tension among citizens, according to some of the participants at the meeting.