CLEEN Foundation, a civil society organisation, has charged the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, and the Nigerian Police Force, on adequate and timely security details as well as deployment of personnel and electoral materials.
The foundation in a statement on Friday, on the election security threats assessment for Edo State, tasked INEC to maintain strategic and constant communication with citizens on the process of election and proactively disclose any glitch that may have occurred as well as their remedial measures.
CLEEN also tasks Citizens to refrain from posting unverified election results through various social media platforms as this has the potential to create undue tension.
The statement noted, “INEC must ensure that it has mechanisms to verify the authenticity of election result sheets posted to the collation centre.
“Security agencies must be on red alert to prevent, deter and contain any form of protest that might occasion result declaration. Political stakeholders must refrain from the use of incisive languages that are capable of threatening peace and security in the state.
“The primary security concerns encompass electoral violence, voter intimidation, and the spread of misinformation. Electoral violence, often orchestrated by political actors or disgruntled groups, poses a significant challenge as it can lead to voters apathy and influence electoral outcomes.
“Such violence not only endangers lives but also undermines public confidence in the electoral system.
“At the heart of this assessment is a comprehensive analysis of various risk factors that could disrupt the electoral process. These include political violence, voter intimidation, the use of political thugs, cyber threats, partiality of security agencies, poor synergy between INEC and security stakeholders and logistical challenges,” the statement noted.