Abuja — Governor Olusegun Mimiko of Ondo State has canvasssed for maximum penalty for electoral offenders to avoid the termination of democratic structures in the country.

He also said that the institutionalisation of internal democracy within political parties remain the panacea to the electoral problems besieging the country.

The governor said internal democracy within political parties, as well as maximum jail sentence for electoral offenders have been identified as the panacea to electoral problems.

Mimiko disclosed that dwelling on controversial electoral issues like constitution amendment, removal of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) chairman among others could be dealt with later, while issues of common ground should be acted upon as quickly as possible.

He warned that the democratic process might be endangered through avoidable lapses, saying, "Internal democracy is one critical area we have not really placed emphasis on".

"God-fatherism must be tackled quickly because those deprived of their ambitions having fulfilled all laid down processes would go away and fight the party and the individuals they perceive as behind their ordeals from other parties".

He attributed lack of internal democracy as being responsible for rampant carpet crossing amongst politicians.

The governor, who recognised the contributions of the judiciary in the nation's quest to enthrone democratic tenets, however, called for the intervention of the judiciary in the affairs of political parties.

According to Mimiko, if electoral offenders are brought to book, violence and other forms of electoral criminality will be phased out.

The governor regretted that the country presently has no credible voters register, adding that the register should be digitalised if electoral malpractices must be stopped.

"A register that captures the geographical location of the electorate as well as other significant features such as the serialisation of the number of the ballot papers with the polling booth would go a long way in addressing problems of ballot box stuffing and snatching to a large extent", he said.

He endorsed the Justice Uwais panel report on the need for the electoral body to be financially independent."The financial independence of the electoral umpire, conclusion and adjucation of all electoral matters before swearing in, as well as staggering of elections are all prerequisites for a free and fair election in the country and politicians must be willing to acknowledge this," he said.

Mimiko called on security agencies to live above board by being impartial during electioneering periods, saying if they remain neutral security reports would remain a reference point during adjudications.