A group, “Say No Campaign (SNC)” has commended the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for successfully prosecuting 61 electoral offenders for various offences during the 2015 general elections.
Mrs Tracy Keshi, the Programme Officer, SNC, gave the commendation in a statement made available to the News Agency of Nigeria on Wednesday in Abuja.
`Say No Campaign’ is a platform of concerned Nigerians fighting against corruption, impunity and other governance challenges in Nigeria.
Keshi said that electoral offences remained a major threat to credible, free and fair elections in a country like Nigeria, where elections tend to heighten political tension and trigger violence.
According to her, an active justice system for prosecution of electoral offenders remains critical to ensure a decrease in the level of electoral impunity and a reversal in the persistent trend of electoral offences.
Keshi said that prosecution of electoral offenders remained an electoral reform issues that required addressing, especially considering the burden on INEC to deliver on a wide mandate.
She commended the commission for taking active steps to prosecute offenders.
Keshi also said such efforts, in the long run, would not only deter electoral offenders but also build confidence in the commission.
She stressed that the SNC was committed to electoral accountability and pledged continuous support to INEC as “it undertakes its work to guarantee credible, free and fair elections in the country”.