Some political parties in Enugu State on Wednesday signed the Peace Accord for the September 21 Local Government Elections in the state.

The parties signed the peace accord during a “Stakeholders’ Engagement on the Enugu State 2024 Local Government Elections” organised by the ActionAid Nigeria.

It was gathered that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Labour Party (LP), All Progressives Congress (APC) and others were not present during the signing, while All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) and African Democratic Congress (ADC) declined due to absence of the ruling party at the meeting.

Speaking at the event, Country Director of ActionAid Nigeria, Andrew Mamedu, who did not disclose the number of political parties that signed the accord, stressed the need for political parties in the state to sign the peace agreement for the peaceful conduct of the election.

Mamedu, represented by the ActionAid Nigeria Head of Programme, Mr Celestine Odo, said the peace accord members were selected by different stakeholders to ensure that parties who were not present signed theirs before Friday.

According to him, the engagement is part of their broader strategy to address the historical challenges plaguing Local Government Elections in Nigeria, such as low voter turnout and the marginalization of women and youth.

“They will sign theirs because this process is being driven by the Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC) Justice Development Development Peace Commission (JDPC) and others.

“Our goal is to create a more inclusive, accountable, and transparent governance system while our specific objective is to improve stakeholder coordination for election security.

“We want to establish a collaborative framework between the Enugu State Independent Electoral Commission (ENSIEC), law enforcement agencies, community leaders, and Civil Society Organisations (CSOs),” he said.

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