By Aliyu DANLADI
Nigerian born political analysts in Europe have urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to consider making it possible for essential workers to vote in future elections.
TBI Africa said that they stated this in separate interviews with the Europe Correspondent of News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Friday in Bern.
They spoke against the backdrop of the inability of such workers to perform their civic responsibility due to official duties.
Dr Ernest Okafor of the Central Association of Nigerians in the UK (CANUK) observed that policemen, journalists, medical personnel and Corp members are among essential workers who are disenfranchised due to the nature of their professions.
“If you add up the numbers of these essential workers nationwide, it would amount to a significant figure.
“For all these people not to be able to vote does not portray our democracy as a serious one,’’ Okafor said.
In the same vein, Mr Kayode Adelaja of Nigeria in Diaspora Organisation (NIDO), Swiss, urged the INEC to consider early voting for future elections.
“It is already late for the 2019 elections but going forward, INEC should put it into consideration,’’ Adelaja opined.
Others, who spoke from Italy, Spain and Germany were unanimous in their call for early voting for essential workers.
They said that such was the practice in advanced democracies and Nigeria could key into it to ensure that such category of workers is not disenfranchised.
They also urged would-be winners of the gubernatorial and state house of assembly elections to be magnanimous in winning and losers should be gracious in defeat.
NAN reports that a large number of Nigerians in Europe travelled to their various states to vote and also serve as observers in the election.
