Money politics or poverty politics by Abdulrazaq O Hamzat
Ekiti State governorship election was held yesterday and reports of widespread buying and selling of votes were recorded. Some commissioners, who participated in this process in other states came online to explain how it was done. They categorized buying and of votes into two. 1. Prepaid 2. See and buy. According to them, prepaid is a situation in which the voters are paid a night before the election and they are expected to fulfill their own end of the bargain at the polling unit. This is often adopted because it is not proper to be giving people money at the unit and in a place where people are much. So, the prepared is adopted to pay for the vote prior to election and the voter fulfill his or her end of the bargain at the unit. The second option is the most disrespectful. See and buy. This is a situation in which the voter goes to the polling unit, vote for the buyer, show it to the buyers party agent and get paid immediately after dropping it in the box. Case closed. I have ...