Towards a successful Osun poll

In less than three weeks from now, the people of Osun will troop out in large number to elect a new governor for the state.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) will play a key role as it is the only agency vested with the powers to conduct such elections. 

Already, Attahiru Jega, the Commission’s chairman, has assured Nigerians and indeed the whole world that Osun election will be far better than that of Ekiti; for this reason expectations are very high.

Although the Ekiti election was generally adjudged free, fair, transparent and hitch-free, it was without some flaws. INEC must therefore, identify areas of challenges during the exercise, and work assiduously to improve the electoral process, not only for the Osun poll, but for future elections. 

At a recent seminar in Abuja tagged, ‘Replicating INEC’s Success in Ekiti on a National Scale Ahead of the 2015 General Elections’, facilitated by the UK Department for International Development (DFID), participants shared their experiences in Ekiti, raised observations, asked questions and made very useful suggestions on how to achieve the desired improvement so that the bar already raised in Ekiti can be sustained. 

It became obvious at the stakeholders’ event that it takes more than INEC to have a successful election. For this to happen, there must be the cooperation of all stakeholders- the political parties, their flag bearers, their supporters and the security agencies. 

While INEC will be doing everything possible to ensure a smooth exercise, the contenders and their respective parties must emphasise violence-free election to their supporters to ensure peace. 

It is our expectation that the peaceful atmosphere that attended the Ekiti election last month will be replicated in Osun. 

Inciting utterances that have the capacity to engender strife must be eschewed. The spirit of sportsmanship must be hugged by all parties; this will enable those who will lose at the end of the day to humbly accept defeat without going into unnecessary frenzy; the winner also must be magnanimous in victory by being modest enough in celebrating the victory without evoking negative sentiments.

It was great relief that despite the gong of violence that was earlier sounded before the Ekiti poll which heightened apprehension for a showdown, there was not even a stone thrown at anybody at the end of the day. 

The security agents must deploy in Osun State, the same level of commitment and civility which they exhibited in Ekiti, which contributed immensely in the success story of Ekiti election.

Eligible voters in Osun must also play by the rules.  They must see the election as a step to a better future for themselves and their children. The ball, indeed, is now in their court. They must play it well in their own interest.