The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has launch a special project aimed at protecting individuals against any form of human rights violations as political activities heighten towards Nigeria’s 2023 General elections.
The Project, termed “Mobilising Voters for Election (MOVE)” is targeted to promote access, participation and accountability in the 2023 general elections in Nigeria just as it aims at removing any form of hinderances likely to disenfranchise voters.
The Executive Secretary of the Commission, Chief Tony Ojukwu, explained that “MOVE” is anchored on four major pillars apart from other pillars integrated into it.
He said that the Commission was moved to initiate this project due to its concern over the rising voter regression and political apathy that has descended into the political landscape since the 2011 general Elections.
Ojukwu advocated that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) should be transparent enough to disclose the names of those de-listed from the Voters’ Registration List so that the concerned individuals will know.
According to him, by so doing, the concerned individuals will know why they could not find their respective Permanent Voter Cards and will prepare to register again should there be another opportunity for Voters’ Registration Exercise.
OPTIMUM TIMES recalls that recently, the INEC revealed that it detected 2.7 million cases of double registration during the last Continuous Voter Registration and has subsequently, deleted them from the voter register.
According to Ojukwu on the four main objectives of project “MOVE”, it involves: “Promoting increased participation of citizens in the voting process through access to permanent voters’ card which will be achieved by conducting high-Level advocacy Outreach to INEC and conducting PVC Collection Campaigns amongst other activities.
“Mobilizing electorates and creating awareness on the right to vote and its associated human rights which the Commission intends to achieve by Monitoring the Voting process and carrying out a Voter Mobilization Campaign.
“Building partnerships for the integration of human rights on the agenda of political parties and candidates as a measure to building voter confidence and participation. In a bid to achieve this objective, the Commission will develop a Human Rights Agenda for the 2023 Election, Organize High-Level Forum on Human Rights for Political Parties and Candidates and Establish a National Register for Hate Speech.
“Promoting normative principles and frameworks for human rights oversight of security and law enforcement operations in the elections. The Commission will Develop Guidelines for the Protection of Voters’ Access Principles in Security Operations at Elections and Organize Consultations and Sensitizations for the Nigerian Police Force on the Protection of Voters’ Access Principles at Elections”
Ojukwu explained that the “MOVE” project is expected to increase citizens’ participation in elections and integrate human rights principles into the electoral process to ensure access, increase participation and ensure human rights oversight in law enforcement and security before, during and after the elections.
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