Orient Foundation warns politicians to focus on issue based campaign

www.odogwublog.com reports that the Orient Foundation, a foremost election monitoring group in the South East of Nigeria yesterday called on Politicians and political parties to ensure its campaigns are issue based and stop the name calling.

 Orient Foundation noted that after a studied observation of the political terrain of Anambra state, the tone, temperament and disposition of political parties  preparatory to the November 18 gubernatorial election has reached a tentative conclusion that there has been substantial slide away from issue- based politicking to regular attacks on persons.

The Foundation maintained that a free, fair and credible election where votes count, are counted and accounted for is a compelling and irreducible necessity for any democracy worth the name.

A press statement by the Director Communications, Orient Foundation, Victor Agusiobo made available to newsmen states that the organization avows that the truth in the statement "no man is good enough to rule another without that others consent" remains the ultimate essence and meaning of democratic governance.
It adds that any election that tries albeit remotely to shortchange the people in whatever shape or form destroys the basis of participatory democracy and therefore must be resisted.

‘’We find it totally embarrassing the accusation and counter accusation by some political parties that some truck loads of election sensitive materials have been found in private hands. It's however a development we are yet to confirm independently.
The statement read in part: ‘’ The Orient Foundation holds INEC in high trust to competently and professionally deliver on its promise of a credible election in the state. Any thing short of this in our estimation is a recipe for anarchy and lawlessness. It is only when people feel and sense equity, impartiality and fairness of the umpire that they can show faith in the governance of the state.
‘’We enjoin the electorate to see the voter's card as a priceless symbol and key to being partakers and having their say in how government runs. The voter's card must therefore be well guarded since it is about the only  legitimate instrument with which the owner can elect his own statesman or tyrant.
 ‘’ Finally, we call for greater networking and collaboration among the different monitoring and observer groups for the election and the media. It is by so doing can the evil of election rigging and manipulation be made very expensive and tedious for those who contemplate it’’.