Kohima, November 2 (MExN): Close on the heels of the bye-elections to the two assembly seats in 14 Southern Angami-1 and the 60 Pungro-Kiphire constituencies, the Nagaland Voluntary Consumers' Organisation (NVCO) has called on the people to ensure that ‘clean elections’ prevail when the polls are conducted on November 3.
In a press release on Monday, the NVCO stated that in Nagaland, another ‘root cause of corruption’ is the manner in which the general state assembly election and the bye-election are conducted.
Stating that clean election is the need of the hour to rebuild the state, it said that, in the past, “we have seen that money had been place at the top and God at the bottom. Candidates have used money to woo voters while on the other hand, voters demand money for their vote.”
It also claimed that proxy voting was rampant, adding that proxy voting amounts to stealing another person’s identity and impersonation.
“Many individuals choose to select and vote for the candidate who spends more money during election,” the statement read.
The NVCO reasoned that rooting out the corrupt practices of election is certainly not an easy task. It lamented that malpractices during elections have caused “division among the families, clans and villages and the fabric of friendship,” while adding that even the “climate of unity and love among the church members is being eroded by the negative forces of election.”
“We sell our vote just for some cash and it is like we are selling our rights for five years, for which we struggle because of improper road conditions, bridges, schools, hospitals, etc,” it stated while underscoring that elections should not be turned into a battle ground and that the people should cast their votes fairly and justly.
It said that ‘clean election’ is “a call to all the people of all backgrounds to commit themselves to consciously elect their leaders with integrity without being manipulated through corruption or other unhealthy means.”
“Corrupt elections result in poor governance, increasing poverty, crime and social instability which can lead to violence and wars. The sole purpose of clean election is to tell the truth, to fight for the truth, to stand for the truth and to bring positive change in our society,” it maintained.
Stating that Nagaland is a land where almost all the politicians, candidates and voters are Christians, the NVCO expressed hope and prayed that clean election would prevail in the forthcoming bye-election, and the state would be free of corruption.
