By Luminous Jannamike, Abuja
NESSACTION, a civil society organization focused on promoting good governance and democratic values, has called on all relevant stakeholders in the electoral process to work together to ensure the implementation of the electoral legal framework, particularly as it relates to the independence of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
In a powerful speech at the #YOURVOTEMATTERS project report presentation in Abuja on Thursday, Eniola Cole, the Executive Director of NESSACTION, highlighted the importance of ensuring that INEC is financially independent in order to carry out its duties effectively and without outside influence.
Cole also stressed the need for civil society to take the lead in monitoring and tracking election budgets to ensure that resources are allocated appropriately and used transparently.
“The implementation of the electoral legal framework especially as it relates to the financial independence of INEC requires concerted efforts from relevant stakeholders in the electoral process,” Cole said.
“INEC should maintain its institutional Independence in ensuring that gains made from the electoral legal framework, specifically, the 2022 Electoral Act, are not circumvented by Politicians,” she added.
In addition to advocating for greater independence for INEC, Cole also made several other recommendations aimed at strengthening the electoral process, including the need for greater transparency in elections, and the need for data aggregation through a commitment to the infusion of technology in the electoral process.
“The dearth of availability of data in Nigeria can become a thing of the past when technology is used for project implementation,” Cole stressed.
On the #YourVoteMatters report, she explained that the project created the opportunity for a deeper exploration of election technology and provided an avenue for further research on the role of technologies and innovative strategies in voter registration and voter participation.
“This can be expanded by election stakeholders to other aspects of elections from the pre-election to post-election phases as well as other crosscutting sectors,” she said.
Source: Vanguard