LG Poll: EU charges electoral body on transparency
Chima Azubuike
The European Centre for Electoral Support (ECES) says for democracy to thrive institutions, and individuals must trust on electoral process, adding that bodies responsible for the conduct of election must hinge all practices on transparency.
According to the Project coordinator of ECES, Hamza Fassi-Fihri, democracy can only work where the process is open to citizen’s monitoring.
Fassi-Fihri stated this on Saturday, at training of Gombe State Independent Electoral Commission (GSIEC) and civil society organizations observers ahead of December 19 local government election.
“It about trust, because people need to trust in electoral process to trust in democracy. One way of building on this trust is to ensure that the process is transparent and open to citizens monitoring.
“These NGO’s, the CSO’s who conduct election observation missions, are very essential to do this scrutiny, monitoring and transparency work. It is very important because citizens can have access to an objective assessment of the process because they can see what went well, what went wrong. It is not about blaming people it is about identifying ways to improve it for the future,” the project coordinator said.
He further lauded the GSIEC chairman for extending the invitation to ECES to train observers on how best to conduct a credible exercise.
Also speaking, The Training Manager Yiaga Africa, Paul James said he is focused at building the capacities of election monitors in the state.
According to James, the local government election is the most neglected tier of government, adding the interest of residents must be paramount.
He said, “This election is about the people and not necessarily about the politicians, if they don’t participate this process will continue to be a mess. For election to be satisfactory it must satisfy three principles; the principle of Inclusivity, the principle of Transparency and principle of Accountability.”
On his part, Kabiru Mohammed, the secretary of Inter Party Advisory Council (IPAC), said the council is satisfied with current arrangements by the election management body- GSIEC.
According to Mohammed, “We want Gombe State Independent Electoral Commission to do justice to our great parties, so that the election can go smoothly.
“If the GSIEC brings the materials in good time, it will enhance the smooth conduct of election in the state. For now we are okay with GSIEC’s preparation, but we don’t know if on the day of election the thing will change.”
