Vote Buying: Group Wants Stiffer Sanctions For Offenders

The Coordinator, Campaign Finance Monitoring Project of the 2020 Edo and Ondo Election, Rev. Father Peter Akinkunmi, has recommended that anyone culpable of vote buying should be criminalised with severe imprisonment without option of fines.

Reverend Father Akinkunmi also averred that electronic voting system can reduce the occurrence of vote buying on election day.

He gave the above recommendation in a study carried out by the Justice Development and Peace Makers Centre Osogbo in collaboration with the International Foundation for Electoral (IFES).

The project tracked campaign expenditure in Edo and Ondo States elections with focus on four and three political parties respectively.

In the September 2020 Edo Election, the following prominent political parties were selected: All Progressive Congress (APC), People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Young Progressive Party (YPP), and Zenith Labour Party (ZLP).

In the October 2020 Ondo Election, the following parties were selected: All Progressive Congress (APC), People’s Democratic Party (PDP), and Zenith Labour Party (ZLP).

The project found out that “In Edo, 50% of vote buying incidents were attributed to PDP and another 50% were attributed to APC.

In Ondo State, APC was noted to have indulge in 66% vote buying incidents, 28% to PDP, and 6% to ZLP.

“Careful estimates following analysis of tracked incidents indicated that PDP spent a total estimated sum of N739,090,000 while APC spent a total sum of N579,850,000 on vote buying in Edo state.

“In Ondo State, PDP spent an estimated sum of N164,464,000, APC spent a sum of N942,914,000 while ZLP spent N10,396,000.”

Speaking on the compliance to extant laws on campaign finance, Akinkunmi said PDP and APC spent above the spending limit.

The extant law regulating campaign finance, 2010 Electoral Acts 91(2), stated that the spending limits for political contesting a gubernatorial election at 200,000 million naira only.

“The ZLP for Ondo State and the YPP’s of Edo State tracked campaign expenditure were within the spending limits stipulated by the law.

“However, drawing from the total amount estimated to have been spent by APC on tracked campaign events, mediums and tools during both the September 2020 Edo and October 2020 Ondo elections are above the spending limit in contravention of the provisions of the extant laws regulating campaign finance.

“In Ondo State, APC spent 167% above the Spending limit while, PDP spent 60% above the spending limit and ZLP spent 38% below the spending limit.

“In Edo State, PDP spent 234% above the spending limit, APC 77% above the spending limit, YPP spent 98.7% below the spending limit and ZLP 99.9% below the spending limit.”

To curb the the menace of election day vote buying, Reverend Father Peter maintained that a special anti-vote buying square with effective intelligence must be established.

He also called for the immediate investigation into the source of the bogus income spent by incumbents which, according to him, “outrageously places their campaign expensive far above those of other contestants.”