THE Coalition of Lagos State Gubernatorial Candidates on Wednesday expressed concerned over voters’ apathy in the just concluded Presidential and National Assembly elections.

Its Convener/Chairman, Dr Solomon Orji, said that lack of credible elections and inadequacies of the electoral umpire had continued to affect the turnout of voters during the elections.

According to him, if many of the factors that affected the conduct of credible polls in some areas were not looked into, voters’ apathy would be higher in the coming Governorship and House of Assembly elections.

Orji said in view of the obvious several negatives that happened in the just concluded elections, outcomes of the forthcoming gubernatorial and state assembly elections might not be desirable, unless they were addressed.

“The major cause of voters’ apathy is lack of credible electoral agency; this makes citizens to doubt their ability to make the difference in their quest for the necessary change in governance.

“Another major cause is lack of interest in the political process.

“The numbers of voters in Lagos is greatly low; it was about 19 per cent of the total numbers of registered voters in Lagos State that voted in the just concluded presidential and national assembly elections.

“To avoid this kind of low turnout in the forthcoming gubernatorial and state assembly elections, INEC and government must roll out advocacy programme.

“This will enable the electorate in the state to have confidence in INEC; the system and also in the area of security.

“They must give confidence in curtailing the negative vibes of thuggery and hoodlums’ attacks during elections,” he said in a statement.

Orji, also the gubernatorial candidate of the Green Party of Nigeria (GPN), said that Lagosians had no confidence in INEC and the process it provided which had continued to affect the voters turnout.

He said that the president’s refusal to sign the amended electoral law to foster deeper electoral credibility made some voters to stay away from the process, believing that their votes would not count.

Orji added that the president’s threat of ruthless treatment to ballot box snatchers also affected some electorate and made them to stay at home, thinking the polls would be marred with violence.

The convener also said that voters apathy could stem from people having little knowledge or understanding of the electoral process.

He said that some failed to understand the importance their actions would have on the larger society.

According to him, another reason for political apathy is that people have no meaningful participation in the political process.

He said that the government might not know what treasures of political ability could be unearthed when people were invited to deliberate on their common concerns with a purpose.

According to him, the challenge of representative democracy is not to divide the public into blocs, but to find the best advocates of the common interest and raise them to positions of leadership.

“To meet that challenge, given the range of public issues and the way each individual’s interest in political matters varies over time, an effective electoral process must examine the entire electorate during each election cycle, seeking the people’s best advocates.

“To eliminate voters apathy, people must have an effective role in the political process, especially in the voting system and process, because sociological factors influence voters and psychological factors too.

“Looking at sociological and psychological factors in voters apathy, these points played out majorly in the South, Lagos State in particular,” the candidate added.

He urged Lagosians to know that their votes were important for influencing public policies and decisions.

“Why voting matters, it plays a significant role in the distribution of government resources as well as the size of government and who benefits from public policies.

“One vote can make a difference,” he added.

Orji said that the coalition was a grassroots organisation with a mission to uphold the core values of democracy in Lagos State. (NAN)

– Feb. 27, 2019 @ 18:25 GMT |