The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has tracked no fewer than 52 incidents of hate speech, abusive language and physical attacks on political opponents since the campaigns for the 2023 general elections kicked off on September 28.
Chairman of the commission, Prof Mahmood Yakubu, noted that the incidents were some of the negative occurrences in the current campaign.
On the positive side, however, he stated that politicians had been visiting places they had never visited before in their bid to meet the requirements to be declared winners in the presidential or governorship elections.
He spoke at an interactive session with newsmen in Lagos, saying the incidents recorded since the electioneering started were not a good omen for the elections.
Reiterating that peaceful campaigns heralded peaceful elections, Yakubu explained that the commission was working with the security agencies to stem the tide and check the perpetrators of such incidents.
Yakubu also called on the National Assembly to expedite action on the proposed establishment of the Electoral Offences Commission to punish electoral offenders.
He said, “Already, there are signs of both positive and negative mobilisation for the elections. On the positive side, parties and candidates are campaigning nationwide, including places around the country where some of the candidates have not visited for a long time, if at all. On the negative side, we have seen a lot of negative mobilisations and even violence.”
