Candidates must not use government property during campaigns ahead of next month?s general elections, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has said.
This is part of the Code of Conduct which the parties have signed.
?All political parties shall separate party business from government business. No political party shall use state vehicles or other public resources for any electioneering campaigns or any other party business,? INEC said in its code.
This is not unconnected with the practice of candidates seeking re-election using government vehicles, aircraft and Government Houses and offices in raising funds and holding meetings.
But INEC did not list sanctions against those who run foul of the code. It also did not say how it will monitor compliance. An INEC official described it all as a moral issue. ?Since the parties have signed the code of conduct documents, it is expected that that will abide,? he said.
Besides demanding notice of all rallies from parties, INEC has also banned parties from using inflammatory language or take any action which could incite violence.
The INEC chairman?s Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Kayode Robert Idowu, said: ?All the parties have subscribed to the Code of Conduct and we expect them to abide by it during the campaign and the election.?
The Code of Conduct also states:
?No political party or candidate shall during campaign resort to the use of inflammatory language, provocative actions, images or manifestation that incite violence, hatred, contempt or intimidation against another party or candidate or any person or group of persons on grounds of ethnicity or gender or for any other reason.
?Accordingly, no political party or candidate shall issue any poster, pamphlet, leaflet or other publication that contains any such incitement.
?All political parties shall take all necessary steps to coordinate their campaign activities in such a way as to avoid holding rallies, meetings, marches or demonstrations close to one another at the same time.
?Accordingly, whenever the date, venue or timing of any such activities of different political parties clash, their representatives will meet to resolve the issue amicably without resort to intimidation, force or violence.
?All parties are required to file with the commission, the details of their public rallies and meetings in any particular area.
?No political party or any person or group of persons acting in its name shall obstruct, disrupt, break up or in any way whatsoever interfere with a meeting, rally march, demonstration, or any campaign activity of another political party.
?In this regard, no party or any person or group of persons acting in its name shall try to obstruct or prevent any person from participating in the activities of another party.
?Every political party shall expressly forbid its supporters from shouting its slogan, wearing its identifying colours or other paraphernalia to the rallies and any public gathering of other political parties.
?All political parties shall instruct their members and supporters that no arms or any object that can be used to cause injury shall be brought to a political rally meeting, march, demonstration, or any other political function.
? No political party or candidate shall prevent other parties or candidates from pasting their posters or distributing their leaflets, hand bills and other publicity materials in public place.
?Furthermore, all parties and candidates shall give directives to their members and supporters not to remove, destroy the posters and other campaign materials of other parties or candidates.?
Topic: INEC bans use of governmentt cash, resources for campaigns (Read 1323 times)
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November 15, 2014, 01:58:38 PM