Electoral Violence Consumed 1,932 Nigerians  In Sixteen Years

No fewer than 1932 Nigerians lost their lives due to electoral violence in the country between 2003 and 2019,the Election Network, a digital media company has said

Asari Ndem, Editor, The Election Network, gave the figure on Thursday, during the presentation to the media, the  “Left Behind” a documentary which highlights the irregularities that rocked Nigeria’s general elections.

According to him, 626 of these deaths occurred in 2019 alone, stressing that fear of intimidation and violence accounted for low voter turnout and voter apathy.

“To show the human impact of electoral deficiencies on average Nigerians, The Election Network produced a documentary titled “Left Behind.” In this documentary, we interviewed Nigerians who were unable to or chose not to vote during the 2019 elections. We found that these Nigerians were stalled by factors like administrative shortcomings, intimidation, and violence. But what stood out the most is violence. Between 2003 and 2019 alone, over 1932 electoral violence related deaths were recorded, with 626 of these deaths occurring in 2019 alone.

“To paraphrase one of our expert interviewees, we attribute the low voter turnout to voter apathy but what really exists is voter fear, fear of intimidation and violence” she said.

The Election Network proposed the passage of the Electoral Act Amendment Bill.

According to group, overarching law on elections in Nigeria, when passed, will help put in check several irregularities but more importantly, give way for the full implementation of electronic voting during elections.

The  group also advocated electronic accreditation, voting and collation saying it will ensure credibility in the voting system, adding that accreditation, voting and collation need to be done electronically to avoid errors and easily trace malpractices in the system.