Former President Goodluck Jonathan has urged all presidential contenders and political party leaders to respect Nigerians’ right to vote by conceding defeat in the event that they do not win.
This was said by Mr. Jonathan during the third peace accord signing ceremony, which was held on Wednesday in Abuja for all political party leaders and their presidential candidates.
This is the time, Mr. Jonathan said, for the candidates and party leaders to show goodwill, according to Matthew Kukah of the Catholic Diocese of Sokoto.
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“Our country needs a stable and reliable democracy to be able to adequately address its challenges and provide the desired leadership that meets the expectations of our teeming populace. The world looks up to us to get our democracy right and become a force to be reckoned with in the leadership recruitment and governance process,” the former president explained.
He added, “We need peaceful elections to give democracy a boost on the continent, especially in our sub-region where civil rule is threatened by a wave of unconstitutional change of government. I, therefore, call on all the presidential candidates, the party chairmen and members of all the political parties to please respect the voice of Nigerians and embrace the politics of peace.”
He recalled that in the build-up to the 2015 general elections, he and President Muhammadu Buhari signed a similar accord, committing themselves to be free, fair, credible and peaceful elections.
We also stated unequivocally in the second Peace Accord that we would follow the results of the votes. According to Mr. Jonathan, “I thought that was the way to bolster our democracy, avert impending violence, and bring peace to our country. Given the significant levels of tension and apprehension so far in the run-up to the elections, there is no better time to make this commitment than right now.
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The police and other security agencies were urged by Mr. Jonathan to “not compromise themselves in the course of carrying out their duties, now, during and after elections” and to work as hard as possible to ensure the elections were free, fair, and credible.
