The Red Card Movement has queried the activities surrounding the July 14 governorship election in Ekiti. In a statement issued on Tuesday themed, “Matters arising on the legitimacy of mandate of the Ekiti election”, the movement said the election was a “brazen assault of our Democracy by the two dominant parties” due to reports of violence, financial inducement to the electorate and intimidation of opponents”.

Read the full statement below:

We at the Red Card Movement advocate for participatory democracy and good governance in Nigeria, mobilizing Citizens to be more strategic in their participation in the 2019 elections. We keenly followed the events of the just concluded July 14 Ekiti governorship election. We also widely took note of the reactions of various stakeholders’ to the conduct and result of the elections. We especially awaited the evaluation of the election by the umpire – Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and can now present our perspective.

We wish to acknowledge the efforts of the INEC in its progressive effort at conducting credible elections in Nigeria. We also acknowledge that there was a general agreement of electorate and observers that INEC’s election logistics is increasingly improving. However, there are serious emerging issues that risk imperilling our Democracy.

Upon our extensive review of the Ekiti elections, we the Red Card Movement hereby alert all Nigerians that the sordid and brazen assault of our Democracy by the two dominant parties – the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and All Progressives Congress (APC) – must not only be condemned but decisively sanctioned. Acts of felony including the use of violence, financial inducement to electorate, intimidation of opponents and abuse of processes were perpetrated by both parties; undermining the political rights of the Ekiti people. The election raised acutely troubling questions for citizens, electorate, the Presidency, Federal and State Governments, INEC, State and Federal Legislature, Political Parties, Law Enforcement and security establishments and the Judiciary.

• Should our Democracy be for sale to the highest bidder?
• Should we accept as normal, the evidences of vote-buying at sums of N4,000 or N5,000 which were embarrassing spectacles that defined the Ekiti election?
• Should we as citizens allow APC and PDP derail our democracy with such unscrupulous, fraudulent and anti-democratic practices?
• Is the Ekiti election the template we should assume the Federal Government wishes to adopt for the 2019 elections?
• If the Ekiti election is accepted as the norm for elections in Nigeria, should we assume that Nigerians have accepted a variant of Democracy that is without the legitimacy of mandate from citizens?
• Is vote buying and selling between politicians and the electorate not a Coup d’état and a subversion of our Democracy?
• Should Nigeria citizens continue to be indifferent to such ruinous path that the political class is towing?

It is extremely puzzling that at a time Nigerians are being deprived of strong policing and security in the face of mass killings across the nation, the Federal Government considered it appropriate to deploy over 30,000 police officers and other security operatives to Ekiti. Paradoxically, their strong presence had no effect on the horrific incidents of “vote trade” that went on at the over 2000 polling units in Ekiti. Our Red Card Movement condemns in the strongest term possible, the fraudulent attack on our democracy in Ekiti state on July 14.

To that end, we make the following demands:

• We demand that INEC swiftly commences legal action to prosecute as many perpetrators of the “Votes Buying and Selling” that took place in Ekiti. For the sake of safeguarding our Democracy, INEC must not overlook such brazen cases of electoral law violations and felony.
• To achieve success in fulfillment of this legal responsibility imposed by Section 150(2) of the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended), the President should instruct the Inspector General of the Nigeria Police to immediately commence, accelerate and conclude the investigation of all cases of suspects in the bizarre “open market vote trading”.
• The Nigeria Judicial Council (NJC) and the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court should mobilise the Judiciary for a speedy and conclusive trial of all accused felons arraigned before the courts for speedy trials and sentencing of the guilty. Successful convictions will serve as deterrents in future elections, especially in the forthcoming Osun governorship election and the 2019 general elections.
• Citizens, especially the electorate should mobilise and collectively demand an Emergency National Meeting on Matters Arising from the Ekiti Election. The meeting which should be initiated by the President and the Federal Government must be representative and include INEC, all States and Governors, the National Assembly, the Nigeria Police and other security agencies the Judiciary, Political Parties and civil society, including religious and traditional institutions.

As we approach the 2019 general elections, it is imperative for INEC to work as an unbiased umpire with other stakeholders involved with ancillary support to the electoral processes to safeguard the conduct and completion of elections. Without a doubt, INEC has an enormous work to do to disabuse the fears of the Nigerian electorate that their votes do not count. It must, therefore, take convincing steps to address the looseness that was permissive of votes trade in the just concluded 2018 Ekiti governorship election.

Our Red Card Movement has a special message for citizens. We believe that it is the citizens and not politicians that own the political process. We, therefore, renew our call to all eligible Nigerian voters to recommit themselves to defending the sanctity of our Democracy as we inch closer to the 2019 elections. As we have always advocated it is Nigerian citizens that can determine the strength of our Democracy and nation. We, therefore, want to awaken that sense of duty in every Nigerian citizen. We ask that citizens awaken their #OfficeOfTheCitizen for collective action and demand for public accountability by all relevant institutions and personnel in the country.

Sponsor