A coalition of civil society organisations (CSOs) and election observers have launched the ‘Follow the Result’ election campaign ahead of Nigeria’s 2023 elections. The campaign was launched to ensure accountability and transparency in the elections.
The coalition said the campaign, which will take place in every part of the country, would be more effective in Kogi, Delta, Rivers, Kano and Yobe states. According to the Executive Director of Grassroots Voters Mobilisation and Empowerment Network (GVMEN), Ozuem Esiri, the campaign will verify the results from observers and polling units, and further confirm the final results that would be announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Esiri said the general election is more than a deciding moment for the country, hence, all well-meaning Nigerians must come together to uphold the unity, sanctity and integrity of the nation by ensuring credible polls. He urged stakeholders, including INEC, security agencies and voters to ensure free, fair and credible general election in February and March 2023. ‘INEC has a responsibility to ensure transparency in its management of the election and because as an unbiased umpire, it must uphold those principles’, he said.
Esiri urged Nigerians to stay at their polling stations after casting their votes until the results are counted, and also follow the results to the collation centres. ‘The era of election rigging, vote-buying, ballot snatching, stuffing and falsification of results is over as we collectively take steps to protect and defend our hard-earned democracy since May 29, 1999’, he added. ‘This time, every vote must be counted and made to count in the overall result. We must get it right and move the nation forward in the quest for sustainable democracy in Nigeria’.
Also speaking, the Executive Director of International Network, Micheal Frisch, urged stakeholders to make a comprehensive report on the election. He also urged them to compile the names of troublemakers, election riggers and their sponsors, who are planning to disrupt the elections, to the appropriate authorities.
