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Campaign Finance violation: JDPMC calls for sanction of culpable political parties,advocates E-voting

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In an attempt to curb the menace of voting buying and selling in Nigeria’s political context which is increasingly promoting Money-Bag politics and bad Governance in the Democratic era, the Justice, Development and Peace Makers’ Centre of Osogbo (JDPMC) has called for serious sanctions against any erring political party to this sacred law that stipulates the specific amount to be spent on electioneering Campaign.

This recommendation came to a fore at the Press Conference and Public Presentation of Report on Campaign Finance Monitoring Project Findings by the Justice, development and Peace Makers’ Centre.

A project targeted at tracking Political Parties and candidates’ Expenditures in the 2020 Edo and Ondo States Gubernatorial Elections to know how much they have adhered to the spending limits as stipulated by the Electoral Acts 2010, more importantly, to monitor the use of state Administrative Resources of some Political Parties as well as vote buying at the elections.

While making compare and contrast of what obtainable in the previous years and operational in 2020 Edo and Ondo Gubernatorial Elections, the General Coordinator of the JDPMC, Rev.Fr. Peter Akinkunmi said “there is a sharp rise in the rate at which Contestants bid at vote buying. In Osun 2018, five thousand naira was the highest tracked to have been paid to buy single vote, by 2020 in Ondo, it rose to thirty-five thousand naira per vote which has now led to a reduction in campaign activities and rising interest in vote buying”,

He stressed further that Law enforcement agencies are not equally doing justice to the all matter as they played indifference and turned blind eyes to such any scenrio which they ought to have risen against.

“While enforcement Agents, manage security at polling units, there seems to be consistent ignoring of vote buying as breach of law even within the vicinity of polling units raising questions as to whether they have the will to fight it as an Electoral offence. This is even more obvious when the fact is considered that there has not been anay reaction or response by relevant state Agencies to the contravention of the provisions of the law on Campaign expenses by political parties in the four major elections preceding Edo and Ondo 2020 within the last three years”. 

Therefore, Fr. Akinkunmi called for draconian measures that will serve as deterrent to others by criminalizing vote buying with severe prison sentence with no option of fine for those who are found gulity and full fledge of mandate efforcement of the Anti-graft Agencies should also be considered to this effect in order to ensure all round surveillance and checkmating of this Electoral foul.

DOWNLOAD DETAILS BELOW

https://jdpmcosogbo.org.ng/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/2020-Press-Conference-for-Edo-and-Ondo-elections.pdf

Bi-weekly newsletter on Campaign Finance Tracking in Ondo Gubernatorial Poll, click on the details…

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The ability of citizens to decide through the ballot on how they are governed is a fundamental to a sustainable democracy. The process of the election is the foundation upon which democratic governments exists and functions must reflect without conflict, the equality, freedom of all eligible citizens to freely participate politically. To ensure a level playing field, money in politics must be regulated in line with several provisions of the electoral act to prevent the influence of money in deciding the outcome of elections.

This is why JDPMC in collaboration with IFES is currently tracking the campaign finance of selected contestants in the 2020 Ondo State gubernatorial election. This first edition of the newsletter covers the period of 16th of August to 30th of August, 2020 and shares highlights of findings from tracking the campaign finance of selected political parties in the 2020 gubernatorial election in Ondo state by JDPMC.

Click on the link below for the meaty details.

JDPMC Campaign Finance Tracking on ONDO POLL

Campaign Finance Monitoring’s Newsletter on Edo Gubernatorial Poll 2nd edition

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To work out a true democratic process that will deliver good Governance by Government at all levels to its people beyond on papers. The Justice Development and Peace Makers’ Centre support from the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) had again deployed field Officers to the nooks and crannies of the Edo State to find out how has each political party been strictly adhered to the spending limit of Electoral Campaigns Finance Law to the tune N200,000,000 (Two hundred Million Naira) as stipulated by Section 91 (3) of the Electoral Act 2010 (As amended).

The outcome through our field trackers revealed that there was a misuse of State Administrative Resources (SAR) by the two prominent political parties (APC and PDP) in the state during their campaigns within the reporting weeks.

This stemmed from Political events held ranging from mini to mega rallies, townhall meetings and ward to ward meetings. This has increased their spending limit by 16% compared to the amount spent in the last two weeks (N42,541,500). This showed that the political party and its candidate Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu are carrying out more political activities towards the end of the month of August 2020.

This link below contains the details.

JDPMC NEWSLETTER, 2ND EDITION

 

JDPMC bi-weekly newsletter on Campaign Finance Tracking in Edo gubernatorial Poll reveals…

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There is no doubt that the Electioneering campaign is pivotal to every political party in Nigeria even across the World. It has proved vital and indispensable for it determines who holds the winning card at the polling booth and takes the mantle of leadership for the next four years. Political Analysts had over the years laid credence to its significance in the political space that it works like a magic formula. As much as this political gimmick is yielding results for all the candidates and political parties respectively, it should also be noted that it undermines the good governance spirit in the country thereby leaving the downtrodden masses at the mercy of hunger, retrogression, unemployment, frustration, economic somersault, disloyalty to their country and most of all crimes.

For this reason, a legal framework governing political campaign finance was established in Nigeria in an attempt to bridle the spending limit of all political parties during the election season that often breeds electioneering campaigns. In spite of this initiative, monetization of the people’s will is still prevalent, likewise vote-buying gaining momentum in the face of level playing ground, justice and fairness.

Being part of her mandates, the Justice, Development and Peace Makers’ Centre (JDPMC) through the support from the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) had since 2018 been on the mission of why this nation’s malady must STOP while normalcy should reign supreme and the act of fair-play practice must be equally embraced by all and sundry especially political actors and gladiators.

JDPMC time and again chose the 2020 Edo Gubernatorial election to access the level of compliance of this adaptation of electoral recommended practice by training 42 Campaign Finance monitors in Edo State and deploying them to track Campaign Finance expenditures of Four (4) Selected Political parties in the state.

The political parties are AllProgressive Congress (APC), Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP), Young Peoples’ Party (YPP) and LabourParty. The field monitors used the Parallel Expense Tracking (PET) Method and mobile technology called JICAFIMO Mobile APP to collect and collate data on party expenditures.  Below link is a newsletter that shows the findings of the field officers, kindly click on it to avail yourself of the information therein.

JDPMC_CAMPAIGN FINANCE TRACKING

INEC Osun engages JDPMC on campaign finance in Nigeria.

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INEC OSUN ENGAGES JDPMC ON CAMPAIGN FINANCE REGULATION IN NIGERIA

It was a gathering of All INEC Staff across the length and breadth of Osun State. The purpose of the gathering was solely to discuss on Campaign Finance Tracking in Nigeria: The journey so far. Owing to exploits the Justice Development and Peace Makers’ Centre, (JDPMC) Osogbo has recorded in Osun State and Nigeria on Campaign Finance Tracking, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Osun State invited the organization to present a Public lecture on the theme “Campaign Finance Tracking in Nigeria: The journey so far”. The lecture was held on the 25th February, 2020 at the INEC Conference Hall, Osogbo, Osun State. The event had in attendance the Resident electoral commissioner of Osun state, Mr Segun Agbaje, all Directors in INEC Osun, and all Electoral Officers across the thirty Local Government Areas of Osun state, and other members of the public.

Click on the above link for the details of the report…

OPEN-SECRET: JDPMC-IFES’ report indicts major political parties of violation of Campaign Finance Law in the 2019 Kogi&Bayelsa Gubernatorial Polls.

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FINAL REPORT FOR KOGI PDFFINAL BAYELSA REPORT  

Confronted like never before by the plague of poverty, population explosion, growing polarization and reels of humanitarian crisis, Nigeria has never stood in need as it does today of a level playing ground by which its’ people would elect the best candidates to steer the course of her leadership at all levels as it is proper of a modern democracy.

Elections processes and outcomes marred by all shades of irregularities and malpractices, decades of failed leadership since return to democracy in 1999 compels the ongoing efforts towards the emergence of frameworks, institutions and processes that could facilitate credible elections to produce the required leadership worthy of modern democracy. Poorly regulated in-flow and out-flow of party and campaign finance has remained the vital force of all malpractices such as election violence, gender discrimination, election rigging, ‘godfatherism’, vote buying and all forms of patron-cliental politics. These decades of unchecked malpractices strongly question the efficiency of the legal framework regulating party/campaign financing as well as its enforcement and citizen’s oversight efforts. Unless the influence of money is significantly and consistently checked in the election of leaders, Nigeria would be plunged into complex crisis under poor leadership.

As steps to checking the grave consequences of growing and unchecked bold contravention of laws regulating campaign finance to democracy and development in Nigeria, the Justice Development and Peace Makers Centre in collaboration with the International Federation for Electoral Systems have initiated and embarked upon a well-planned 4-months campaign finance monitoring project of prominent political parties for the November 2019 gubernatorial election of Bayelsa state. It is not unconnected with previous efforts of this partnership in campaign finance monitoring which had already been undertaken in the Osun state gubernatorial election in 2018, the 2019 general election and the Bayelsa state gubernatorial election of November 2019.

This publication shares the processes and findings of the initiative for the November 2019 Bayesla state gubernatorial election with all stakeholders in a timely manner. The aim is to promote multi-stakeholder response which is the pathway out of the critical situation which the protracted incapacity of the legal frameworks, processes and relevant institutions to regulate campaign finance subject democracy and development in Nigeria. To be found in this publication among others include the evolution of strategy, operational mechanism, implementation exercises, conclusions of the project as well as recommendations for the strengthening of party/ campaign finance regulation in Nigeria.

kindly click on the above link,download and digest the fact-contained files.

Rev Fr Peter Akinkunmi

General Coordinator, JDPMC

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                                                                                                                                                                    PRESS RELEASE   

    INVITATION OF GENERAL PUBLIC TO A PRESS CONFERENCE AND PUBLIC PRESENTATION OF REPORT ON CAMPAIGN FINANCE MONITORING PROJECT OF THE 2019 KOGI AND BAYELSA GUBERNATORIAL ELECTIONS.

The Justice, Development and Peace Makers’ Centre (JDPMC),  hereby invites the General Public to a Press Conference and Public Presentation of Report of Findings of a Campaign Finance Monitoring Project of the 2019 KOGI and BAYELSA GUBERNATORIAL ELECTIONS with support from International Foundation for Electoral System (IFES), United State Agency for International Development (USAID & UKAID)

It is also a forum of dialogue among key stakeholders of the electoral processes such as INEC, public regulatory and law enforcement agencies, CSOs and the media on our far-reaching implications of our findings for continuous strengthening of democracy and development in Nigeria.

JDPMC in her usually characteristic Manner in collaboration with IFES had trained and deployed a total of 43 Campaign Finance Monitors and 2 State Coordinators to the both KOGI and BAYELSA towards their GUBERNATORIAL ELECTIONS in order to track the Campaign Finance expenditures and the use of Administrative Resources of some selected Political Parties.

In the light of this, Justice Development and Peace Makers’ Centre (JDPMC) cordially invites the General Public to the Press Briefing. It is scheduled as follows:

Date: Wednesday, 29th January, 2020

Venue: Agura Hotel, 40 Moshood Abiola way, Opposite Army Headquarters, Area 10 Garki

Time: 10:00am Prompt

Rev. Fr Peter Akinkunmi

General Coordinator.