Ahead of the lifting of ban on open campaigns, the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Professor Mahmood Yakubu has reminded those in government not to use of power of incumbency to deny opposition parties access to public facilities.
He said this, on Monday, at a sensitisation forum for broadcasters and stakeholders on fair and responsible coverage of the 2023 general elections organised by the National Broadcasting Commission, NBC.
He explained that Section 95 of the Electoral Act 2022 defines the responsibilities of political parties and candidates, the media and public institutions and that it also provides sanctions for violations.
The INEC Chairman urged political parties, their candidates and their supporters to refrain from hate speech; abusive, intemperate, or slanderous language; insinuations or innuendoes likely to provoke violent reaction; physical attack on supporters of one party by another or destruction of campaign materials etc during their campaigns.
He appealed to the Media to continue to fact-check stories before going to press. “Politics is an intensely partisan activity. The media and INEC stand for neutrality”, he said.
