By EMMANUEL OLONIRUHA

Former President Goodluck Jonathan has called for an urgent national stakeholders’ engagement to address the emerging trend of serving governors, senior public officials and political gladiators descending on states during off-cycle elections.

Jonathan made the call in a statement personally signed by him on Tuesday in Abuja, entitled: “Osun and the need to set new boundaries for political conduct in off-cycle elections.”

He warned that the practice witnessed during recent governorship elections in Osun, Ekiti and Ondo States, if left unchecked, could create an undue pressure that could threaten Nigeria’s fragile democracy.

While commending Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), security agencies, political parties and the people of Osun for the peaceful conduct of the governorship election, Jonathan stressed that political mobilisation on election day must have boundaries.

He said that the outcome of the state election demonstrated that Nigeria still possessed the capacity to conduct elections in a manner that strengthens public confidence in the country’s democratic institutions.

“While we commend the electoral process itself, there are developments surrounding the election and, more importantly, an emerging trend in political conduct during off-cycle elections that raises concerns.

“The growing practice whereby serving governors, senior political office holders, party leaders and other influential government functionaries, accompanied by large number of aides and heavy security details from outside a state, converge on states where elections are being conducted raises an issue that demands national attention.

“The conduct witnessed around the recent elections in Osun, Ekiti and Ondo states was, in my view, unusual. It is not a practice that should become normal in a democratic society,” he said.

The former president recalled that, as president, similar situations arose during the 2013 Anambra and 2014 Ekiti governorship elections where senior political leaders mobilised and descended on the states.

“Upon being briefed, I ordered party leaders and senior government officials to leave the states immediately,” he said.

Jonathan described the trend as unwholesome, saying if left unchecked, it could threaten Nigeria’s fragile democracy and have serious long-term implications for democratic stability.

“Political parties are entitled to campaigning, mobilising their supporters and deploying their legitimate party structures. That is an essential part of democracy.

“However, there is a point at which political mobilisation, particularly when it involves the overwhelming presence of serving governors, senior public officials and powerful political actors from across the country on election day, can create an atmosphere of apprehension, intimidation, bullying and undue pressure.

“We must ask ourselves whether the increasing deployment of political power and large-scale mobilisation by senior office holders on election day in states holding elections is consistent with the spirit of free, fair and peaceful democratic competition. This hardly happens in other democratic countries.

“We must not allow political competition to become a contest in which victory is perceived as something that must be achieved at all costs,” he said.

According to the former president, there is also the question of precedent.

“If the current trend becomes established, what happens when governors from opposing political parties begin to descend on every state holding a competitive election?

“What happens when each party seeks to match political power with political power, governmental influence with governmental influence, and mobilisation with counter-mobilisation?

“Such a development would not strengthen our democracy. It would deepen political tensions and could make elections increasingly resemble battles for political survival rather than peaceful contests for the mandate of the people,” he stated.

The former president said that he believed that the matter should not be treated as a partisan dispute concerning the Osun election, describing it as a broader national issue concerning the future of Nigeria’s electoral democracy.

“Those of us who have occupied public offices must recognise that our conduct carries a greater responsibility.

“The power and influence attached to public office should be used to strengthen democratic institutions, not to create apprehension among political opponents or citizens,” he said.

Jonathan called on National Peace Committee to convene, as soon as practicable, a stakeholders’ engagement to provide a neutral and constructive platform for political leaders and other stakeholders to reflect on the emerging practices around elections and agree on standards that would protect Nigeria democracy and preserve peace.

He said that the engagement should bring together key stakeholders, including the leadership of registered political parties and INEC.

Other stakeholders according to him, should include relevant security agencies the leadership of National Assembly, Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Nigeria Governors’ Forum; civil society organisations and the media, to interrogate what he described as the troubling trend.

“I believe that the National Peace Committee is particularly well placed to lead this conversation because of the confidence and moral authority it has built over the years in bringing political leaders together at moments of national tension.

“An early national conversation can help us establish appropriate boundaries and expectations for political conduct before practices that are unusual today become accepted as normal tomorrow,” the former president said. (NAN)

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