LET’S SHUN VOTE BUYING.

BY HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH AND YOUTH EMPOWERMENT FOUNDATION OF NIGERIA, FOUNDED BY AMBASSADOR AGIM GODWIN APPLE.

In a democratic settings, political leaders are fairly elected for the people, by a majority of people, to protect and serve the nation.

The negative influence of vote buying during election has become a terrifying new reality in the Nigeria’s election.

Politicians are no longer elected for their platforms and ability to serve the Nigerian public, in fact, vote buying has become a cankerworm that have eaten deep into the fabric of a free and fair election.

With the negative influence of vote buying, politicians exist to serve their donors instead of their voters, which affects the policies they support, how they allocate government spending, and their expressed values.

Vote buying in politics can undermine the running of a democratic system. Unbridled vote buying by candidates and political parties can make the playing field for elections uneven. Illicit money by a candidate can lead to inefficient or disrupted public services.

Vote buying results in absence of accountability to the leader, the relationship between the government and the people governed rests on accountability on the part of those who were elected by the people to serve the nation in any capacity. When the leaders no longer care about the opinions of the people in respect of decision making, there is a breakdown of that cordial relationship.

There is also a tendency by any leader who was elected through vote buying to misuses his office to ascribe benefits to himself.

If society’s well being depends on ensuring that all its members feel that they have a stake in it and do not feel excluded from the mainstream of society.

Human Rights Watch and Youth Empowerment Foundation Of Nigeria requires all groups, but particularly the voters, to fight against vote buying at all level.