From our studies of past elections held in 1999, 2003, 2007, and 2011, 2015, Rivers State, being the financial hub of the Niger Delta region have usually been characterized by violence before, during and after these elections. This violence usually involves supporters of major political parties or political godfathers, who set upon their rivals to inflict violence which sometimes lead to loss of lives and properties. Sometimes, this violence spills over and affects innocent citizens, journalists, and all classes of observers who have no known ties to any political parties. Presently, the political landscape in the South-South is tensed and uncertain, with activities of the two major political parties, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and the All Peoples Congress (APC) aimed at discrediting each other in order to gain the votes of the populace. Due to this seeming pathway, political campaigns become violent as critical incidences have been witnessed and reported in Rivers State. These campaigns are done with defamation of political opponents and institutions as key weapons, thereby facilitating increased animosity amongst perceived party supporters and faithful’s.
The “Electorate Awake and Participate Project” is designed to combine community level voters education, mass media awareness and sensitization campaigns and participatory citizen powered voting observation using low cost mobile IT devices and remote aerial tools to contribute to the monitoring and observation and non partisan analysis of 2018/2019 elections in 8 LGAs located in the three (3) senatorial districts of Rivers State. The overall aim of the project is to empower communities and electorates to use available tools and mechanisms to contribute to free, fair and credible electioneering in the fast approaching general elections of 2018 and 2019.
Across the 2019 elections cycle you can report incidents you observe in your area to 1Vote1Count.org.ng.
Our network is spread across every LGA across Rivers State, and will aim to respond to verified reports of incidents within the shortest possible time. This initial response will be followed by a number of positive steps for resolution where appropriate.
1Vote1Count.org.ng has experience working with communities on tackling election related violence. Our aim is to help communities voice their experiences with the election process, whether good or bad.
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