As Electoral Violence Threatens Peace Accord

With the attacks on political parties’ rallies in some parts of the country, the signing of the Peace Accord by the 18 presidential candidates contesting the 2023 elections might not guarantee credible and violence-free polls in the country next year, Emameh Gabriel writes

isturbed by increasing violence at campaign rallies and the growing resort to incendiary comments barely four weeks after signing a Peace Accord by political parties, the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, recently expressed concerns over the spate of violence at the ongoing campaigns. Yakubu said the commission would summon the leaders of political parties next week over the resort to violence.

Yakubu raised concerns in Abuja after the leaders and supporters of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) were attacked by suspected thugs in Kaduna State. Describing the development as worrisome, he warned parties and their supporters to focus on issues and steer clear of attacks on one another.

He noted that the violent acts were not only a violation of the Electoral Act 2022, but also negate the voluntary commitment by all political parties and candidates to the letter and spirit of the Peace Accord.

Yakubu said: “As the commission is working hard to ensure a credible process, reports of clashes among parties and their supporters are worrisome. So too is the reported denial of access to public facilities for parties and candidates in some states. Let me caution parties and their supporters to focus on issues and steer clear of attacks on each other.

“Parties, candidates and their supporters should not by acts of commission or omission further complicate the prevailing security situation in the country. A peaceful electioneering campaign is critical to the conduct of peaceful and credible elections.

“The commission will continue to monitor the situation closely and will convene a meeting with leaders of political parties next week to discuss, among other issues, the imperative of peaceful campaigns and equal access to public facilities. In same vein, the commission will also meet with the security agencies under the auspices of the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES) next week.”

Yakubu’s alarm followed recent political rallies across the country that were marred by attacks. The most recent one was allegedly carried out by the supporters of the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC) on members of the main opposition PDP, during a rally in Kaduna State.

Also a fortnight ago, scores of the APC members in Oyo State, were allegedly attacked by an identified chieftain of the PDP. Members of other political parties have also not been spared, especially supporters of Labour Party (LP), who have continued to raise the alarm over the safety of its members against assaults.

The Kaduna attack coincided with the day the leadership of LP raised the alarm over the incessant attacks on its members across the country and went further to call on President Muhammedu Bubari to declare a state of emergency in Delta State where the party accused the PDP in the state of acts of intimidation and open assault on its members in the state.

All these incidents took place just less than a month after the 18 political parties that will participate in next year’s presidential election signed the National Peace Accord pledging to abide by the rules of engagement.

The peace pact which was signed by the presidential candidates and the national chairmen of their parties a day after INEC lifted the embargo on political parties’ campaigns, was expected to set the standard for the campaigns. But the recent developments have shown that it may be impossible to have violence-free elections next year.

By the terms of the agreement, which was designed by the National Peace Committee, the candidates and their political parties agreed to conduct campaigns that would be focused on policy issues. They are also expected to promote their parties’ manifesto, and ensure that their spokespersons and members abide by the rule of law and refrain from bribery, extortion, and violence.

The Chairman of the Nigeria Peace Committee, General Abdulsalami Abubakar (rtd) and the Chairman of INEC, Prof. Yakubu, had during the signing emphasised that the essence of peace pact was to commit all presidential candidates, political parties, and their spokespersons to focus on national developmental issues rather than insults and violence.

They also identified fake news and misinformation as major concerns ahead of the 2023 election, saying the spread of fake news had “shifted focus away from issue-based campaigns and created the platform for political parties to resort in name-calling and character assassination.”

Yakubu was more specific with the provisions of the Electoral Act 2022 and the commission’s determination to play the role of a regulator; and vigorously monitor compliance to ensure that parties shun abusive, intemperate or slanderous language as well as insinuations or innuendoes likely to provoke a breach of the peace during the electioneering campaigns.

That the signing ceremony was attended by eminent Nigerians like the Sultan of Sokoto, Sa’ad Abubakar II; Nigerian business moguls, Femi Otedola; Aliko Dangote, and Sam Amuka; as well as John Cardinal Onayekan; the Chief of Staff to the President, Professor Ibrahim Gambari, among others, was a strong indication that the leaders sensed the dangers that lurked in the atmosphere.

The attacks have further confirmed reservations earlier made by analysts and even some presidential candidates that political actors might not subscribe to the standards set either by the National Peace Committee or INEC.

Some of them anchored their argument on the “winner-take-all” political culture in the country, which does not provide any sense of belonging to the opposition. The culture has made the Nigerian political environment a very tough and dangerous option.

For instance, when the presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), Omoyele Sowore, recently appeared on a live interview on The Morning Show of ARISE NEWS Channel, before the Peace Accord was signed and was asked if he would attend the signing ceremony, he responded by saying: “Yes, even though, I have my reservations about it. But you and I know that electoral contests in Nigeria, at any level, are much fiercer than being at war.”

For those, who have been following Nigeria’s political development since the inception of the Fourth Republic in 1999, the ongoing mass movement mainly organised by the Nigerian youths for the Labour Party (LP), has sent a strong signal that the 2023 general election could make or mar Nigeria.

The 2023 polls will be the first elections since 1999 where three major political parties whose presidential candidates came from the three dominant ethnic groups will be going into a presidential election, leaving political pundits befuddled as to where the pendulum will swing. This means that it will be an uphill task for the National Peace Committee, including INEC to achieve the goals they are set out for.

While the effort of the Abdulsalami-led peace committee has been widely commended for what it has achieved since inception, there are suggestions by political watchers that the commitment to peaceful and issue-based campaigns should resonate beyond parties’ chairmen and presidential candidates.

The call followed the incidents in the past where people simply signed the Peace Accord but failed to abide by its letter and spirit.

For example, in the 2015 general election, the National Human Rights Commission reported a total of 61 incidences of violence in 22 states in which at least 58 people were killed.

Recently, elections conducted in the country have shown an upsurge in the number of electoral violence and killings since 2015 as a result of non-adherence and lack of genuine commitment on the side of political actors and critical stakeholders, including the judiciary which have also been indicted through several conflicting rulings.

Similarly, an estimated 626 persons were killed across Nigeria in the six months between the start of the election campaign and the commencement of the general and supplementary elections, the Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room has said.

The report which was contained in its final report on the 2019 general election, the group said the number increased compared to the 106 killed in the 2015 general election. The organisation in its report on the elections listed the numbers of deaths per the six geopolitical zones in the country.

“Situation Room is deeply worried about the spike in politically motivated killings in the period leading up to the elections. At least, 626 people were said to have been killed between the start of the campaign in October 2018 and the final election in March 2019”, the coalition observer group said.

The 2023 general election will no doubt be keenly contested. There are several factors that will influence the elections. The first lies in the hands of INEC in the manner in which the election will be conducted.

INEC has promised at different fora expressed its readiness for the general election. The commission has also promised after the Kaduna incident that it will convene a meeting with leaders of political parties next week to discuss, among other issues, the imperative of peaceful campaigns and equal access to public facilities. It has also declared to meet with the security agencies under the auspices of the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES) next week. It is hoped that whatever is discussed at the meeting will be implemented.