As Edo votes on Saturday

All eyes are now trained on Edo State as its registered voters go to the polls on Saturday, September 10 to elect a successor to the outgoing governor and former central labour leader Adams Aliu Oshiomhole. Even though many political parties have fielded candidates for this contest, it is widely seen to be a two […]

All eyes are now trained on Edo State as its registered voters go to the polls on Saturday, September 10 to elect a successor to the outgoing governor and former central labour leader Adams Aliu Oshiomhole. Even though many political parties have fielded candidates for this contest, it is widely seen to be a two horse race between the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), which has Mr. Godwin Obaseki as its candidate,  and the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) which fielded Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu as its candidate.
The electioneering campaign in Edo State has been momentous as contending political parties campaigned vigorously by selling their manifestos to the electorate. Even though the outgoing governor Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, who has been on the saddle since 2008, will not be on the ballot in this election, his shadow looms large over it and he is throwing in everything to ensure that he retains the state for APC. Conversely, leaders of PDP, which controlled the state from 1999 to 2008, are making frantic efforts to reclaim it and they believe they have a good chance of doing so. The two major political parties in the contest have received the endorsement of various communities, trade unions and associations.
Since this race is very keen, we call on various political parties to test their popularity with decorum by allowing the electorate to choose who they want as governor.  The contenders must caution their supporters against threat of violence before, during and after the election. Voters must resist temptation from power mongers to mortgage their future. They should elect a credible and tested candidate that will work for social and economic development of Edo State.
 Similarly, INEC should ensure free, fair and conclusive election in Edo by distributing election materials on time and by ensuring that no community is disenfranchised. Competent and non-partisan election personnel should be deployed to all voting centres on time so that voting and collation of results would be completed on schedule.
The most disturbing aspect of off-season elections since last year’s general elections has been the inconclusive nature of many of them as seen in Kogi, Rivers and Bayelsa States. Everything must be done to prevent a reoccurrence of this in Edo State because it causes tension and tends to raise suspicion on the credibility of the election. The Independent National Electoral Commission [INEC] blames inconclusive elections on violence perpetrated by political parties, their candidates and their supporters. INEC on its own cannot check election violence. However, it deprives thugs and their sponsors of the excuse they need to unleash violence when it gets its logistics right, delivers election materials on time, conducts the voting process transparently, and trains its staff adequately to handle the electoral process competently and without unnecessary hitches.
Election violence leading to inconclusive polls must be checked as we approach 2019. The security agencies have a very important role to play here. Even though we will continue to urge political parties and candidates to behave with decorum, chances are that they will not easily do so, so the Inspector-General of Police and other sister agencies should deploy enough personnel to deter and apprehend would be trouble makers. Security operatives must also rise above partisanship and must deal with all parties in an even handed manner because it was one of the causes of violence in the past.  Other agencies that have an important role in sensitisation include traditional rulers, the mass media and civil society organisations. All hands must therefore be on deck to ensure that the upcoming governorship election in Edo State is hitch free and that voters are given a free hand to choose the person who will govern them for the next four years.