The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has called on all stakeholders to strictly comply with the election code of conduct and ensure that the upcoming House of Representatives elections scheduled for March 5 are human rights–friendly.

Issuing a press release on Thursday, the human rights body said that discussions held with chiefs and representatives of various organisations involved in election observation stressed the need to conduct the election in a manner that fully respects human rights.

The NHRC said that discussions and monitoring carried out by its offices across the country have pointed to incidents violating voters’ right to secret and confidential voting. It also flagged the use of hate speech against candidates and the circulation of misleading news predicting the victory of specific candidates even before polling day, which has created confusion among voters.

The Commission further noted that voter education efforts have remained ineffective, while incidents of vandalism at the offices of some political parties have also been reported.

NHRC urged all concerned to refrain from hate speech and personal attacks, avoid the misuse of social media, respect voter privacy, stop publishing or broadcasting misleading news, prevent violence, strengthen voter education and fully adhere to the election code of conduct to ensure a human rights–friendly elections.