TRACKING____The chairman Contact and Mobilization member of the Steering Committee
of Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP), Rev. Olusegun Peters has demanded issue-based campaigns from political parties participating in the forthcoming Edo and Ondo gubernatorial polls.
Peters in a statement issued in Abuja yesterday said the elections are critical for sustainable democracy in Nigeria. He said that it is time to imbibe politics without bitterness and rancour in the nation’s electioneering so as not to overheat the polity still recovering from the adverse effects of COVID-19 pandemic.
The statement reads in part, “The need for transparency in these elections cannot be overemphasized as we systematically consolidate on the gains of our representative governance.
“The era of rigging, vote buying, over voting, ballot snatching,
falsification of results and brigandage is over as Nigerians are now politically wiser and want their votes to count and mandate respected. This
is the only way we can deepen, strengthen and sustain the nation’s constitutional rule as obtainable in advanced democracies including nascent
democracies like Ghana. The nation’s electoral system must be sanitized and redirected to the path of progress, development and advancement.
“For decades, past and present governments have treated electoral crimes
with kid’s gloves. It is time to prosecute all those involved in electoral crimes and their sponsors as a deterrent to those who might contemplate
this crime against the fatherland. It is time to constitute, inaugurate and commence Electoral Offences Tribunal. This will give a strong sign to
election riggers and their collaborators that the game is over as the law is no respecter of persons.”
