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Research Shows Doubt in Credibility of 2015 Elections(AllAfrica Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) The Kano-based Centre for Research and Documentation (CRD) yesterday said a recent research had shown that many people in the northern part of the country believe that INEC cannot conduct free and fair elections in 2015. The Acting Director of the centre, Dr. Umaru Yakubu, said at a workshop for electoral stakeholders in Northern Kaduna Senatorial District in Zaria at the weekend that the research on the topic 'Youth Restiveness and the Electoral Process in Nigeria: A case Study of the 2011 Post-Election Violence in Northern Nigeria' suggests that most people in the North have negative perception about INEC. "The research was conducted in three states of Kaduna, Kano and Bauchi where the finding showed that many people in the North have little confidence in INEC on the conduct of free and fair elections in 2015. These are the three states worst hit by the 2011 post-election violence," Dr. Yakubu said. Despite that belief, he said more than two-thirds of respondents promised to vote in the 2015 election and to ensure that their votes count, believing that participating in the electoral process is the only way to ensure credible polls. "It is important to note that the major objective of the research was to find the factors that led to the post election violence of 2011 and recommend ways of averting same in 2015. That is why INEC accepted our proposal and decided to support us. Our research has shown that youths who took part in the 2011 post election violence were not sons of the elite in the society. This calls for more enlightenment by all stakeholders in order to avert a repeat of the 2011 violence," he said. Copyright Daily Trust. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). |