A cash prize of N1 million should be given by the
federal government to any ward in the country where there is no report
of violence during the general elections, the International
Organisation for Sustainable Development has said.
The non-governmental organisation stated this at a
workshop yesterday in Awka Anambra State, adding that the gesture would
spur community elders and the youth to ensure peaceful polls.
“It will also lead to the rejection by the youth of any overtures from politicians to permit fraud in any form,” said the group.
The call was part of a five-point communiqué
issued at the end of the workshop entitled: “One Day Zonal Workshop on
Youth against Electoral Violence” which was organised in partnership
with the Independent National Electoral Commission at Parktonian Hotel
Awka.
According to the group, the workshop was necessary
in order to mitigate electoral violence ahead of the general elections
in the country.
“The conceptualisation is strategic and recognises
the existent of different types of electoral violence by distinguishing
between violence aimed at disrupting elections by actors who do not
want the elections to take place at all and violence triggered by the
rivalry between the contesting candidates or parties,” stated the group.
