Following the scheduled Local Government Elections in Plateau state which is set for Saturday 9th October across 17 Local Government Areas in the state, BEGE Foundation has called for a free, fair and credible Plateau State Council Elections
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*BEGE FOUNDATION*
*Calls for Free, Fair, and Credible Plateau State Council Elections*.
07/10/2021
Elections are pivotal and necessary for every sovereign entity’s quality representation and good governance and can greatly advance or bring setbacks to the entity’s long-term democratic development.
The most basal principle defining credible elections in any sovereign setting is when it reflects the free expression of the will of the people. It is on this premise that BEGE FOUNDATION calls for a transparent, inclusive, accountable, equitable, and responsible electoral process.
We believe in the capacity and the integrity of the Plateau State election management body to hold free, fair, and credible elections and we equally urge all that will be employed to be part of this process to be impartial in a bid to discharge their responsibility as it is the only right process that brings about right outcomes.
We also call on all rational electorates to maintain calmness because it is only somewhere inside of all of us that there is the power to change all the anomalies as everything rises and falls on leadership, Election is the tool that we all have to make this change happened. Let’s come out en mass and exercise our constitutional mandate by expressing our franchise by voting the candidates and party of our choice.
Finally, we call on all CBOs, SBOs, NGOs, and many others who will be taken the observations benches, we plead that you do the needful in all ensuring that the communicable observables are taken so that strong improvement can be seen in our subsequent preparations and processes.
Given the myriad security challenges faced in many LGAs of the state, which characterized many of our communities as securely fragile ones. Thus, a need to call for the government to tighten up the security structure in ensuring secure conditions for free and fair elections in such a volatile and challenging, politically charged environment.
We charge the security agencies to provide adequate security to candidates and their supporters, to provide enough intelligence coverage during actual voting (election), protect the sensitive election materials, ensure the safe movement of people and materials, guarantee the safety of the voters, monitor voting stations and collation centers, and help maintain the overall integrity of the process and generally maintain high vigilance in the post-election period to see to the maintaining of peace and security by preventing a breakdown of law as a result of violence or subversive activities.
Elections are platforms to deepen and strengthen our Democratic practice through processes that are transparent, peaceful and no-violence, as such we urge and encourage all eligible electorates and other residence in the state to conduct themselves peaceful.
*Signed: Moses Gata
BEGE FOUNDATION
Media Officer
Gata@begefoundation.org
07065759529*