The Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) has lauded the recent historic move by the United States Government with resultant visa restrictions on electoral-related violence, primarily to restore fairness, credibility and transparency in Nigeria’s electoral processes.
The Executive Director, CISLAC, Auwal Ibrahim Musa (Rafsanjani) in a press statement issued in Abuja said the development is a restoration of fast-eroding democratic principles and core values in the nation’s electoral processes, dominated by decades of unchecked violence, vote buying and ballot lootings.
He said the total support for the new policy, which has validated the years of persistent demands by Civil Society, Human Rights and Anti-Corruption activists for stringent international measures to discourage electoral violence that paves way for electoral fraud and undermines democratic principles in Nigeria.
“We are not unaware of the lack of political will at all levels of government to address electoral violence, in spite of the existence of laws and reports from several panels and commissions, with recommendations.
“We also welcome the pronouncement by the United States Government in anticipation of respect for sanity and sanctity of rule of law in the run up to the September and October 2020 Edo and Ondo State elections, and beyond.
“We, therefore, call on British and other Governments to follow suit in the imposition of Visa restrictions to discourage electoral offenders from using their respective countries as alternatives in harbouring electoral crimes,” he said.
