Group condemns alleged vote buying in Niger

A Coalition of Civil Society group has condemned the alleged vote-buying witnessed during the just concluded governorship and state assembly polls in Niger.

Mr Abdullahi Jabi, Team Leader of the group in the state, made this known on Tuesday while briefing newsmen in Minna.

“The issue of vote buying is still prevalence among politicians as we observed during the governorship and state assembly elections.

“Drastic action must be taken against perpetrators and advocacy intensified to curb this negative electoral tendency introduced by desperate politicians,” he said.

Jabi, who is also the state chairman Campaign for Democracy (CD), advised aggrieved political parties and their candidates to seek redress in the courts or tribunals as stipulated by law instead of taking the law into their hands.

“Since the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is saddled with the constitutional responsibility of declaration of results officially, whoever is aggrieved with the declaration should take the civilised approach of seeking redress in court or tribunal and not resorting to violence,” he said.

He declined naming political parties involved in the alleged vote buying in the State but pointed out that it happened in some polling units.

The group’s leader also urged INEC to ensure prompt payment of ad-hoc staff to avoid politicians exploiting the avenue to compromise the process.

He advocated for adequate training for both INEC staff and ad-hoc staff towards credible elections.

Jabi commended INEC, security agencies, political parties and other stakeholders for ensuring free, fair and credible general elections in the state.

The governorship and state assembly elections took place on March 9th across some states.