2015 poll: INEC ignores calls for shift of election

Jega

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is not keen on altering the dates for next year’s Presidential, National Assembly, Governorship and State Assembly elections, despite complaints from certain quarters.
Saturday, February 14 was picked for the Presidential/National Assembly election and February 28 for the Governorship/State Assembly polls.
The Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) and the Northern Elders Forum (NEF) kicked against the presidential election coming up first, saying it was aimed at encouraging a bandwagon effect in favour of the PDP.
The ACF said it would have been better for INEC to hold all the elections on the same day to “reduce cost and avoid bandwagon effect.”
It asked the National Assembly to amend the Electoral Act to empower the Commission to hold all the elections on the same day.
Governor Rabiu Kwankwaso of Kano State has also faulted the timetable along the same line.
However, an INEC top official told The Nation yesterday that the Commission has no reason to change the poll timelines.
The source, a Commissioner, said: “We are constitutionally empowered to conduct elections. Go to sections 76, 178, 116 and 132 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 to view the mandate of INEC on dates of elections to be appointed.
“If you look at Section 25 of the Electoral Act, INEC is expected to organize elections 150 days or 30 days before the expiration of the tenure of office of any holder.”
The Section, which applies to all political offices, reads: “An election to the office of the President (as applicable to all offices) shall be held on a date to be appointed by the Independent National Electoral Commission in accordance with the constitution and this Act.
“An election to the said office of the President (as applicable to all offices) shall be held on a date not earlier than 150 days and not later than 30 days before the expiration of the term of office of the last holder of that office.
“So, we have complied with the 1999 Constitution and the Electoral Act. No one can ask us to change the timetable and there is no circumstance that could warrant any alteration of our schedule.
“In 2011, a party even went to court on the timetable and the court said it is the prerogative of INEC to fix election timeline. That has laid any agitation on the 2015 poll timetable to rest.
“The fact is that there is no enough time at hand to be playing politics with poll timetable; we will not join such fray.”
Giving an insight into what informed the choice of the election dates, the Commissioner said that in 2011, INEC started with the National Assembly elections followed by the presidential poll and the governorship and State Assembly elections coming last.He said the only change this time around is holding the presidential and National Assembly elections on the same day because it is cost effective.
“Instead of Nigerians going to the polling station three times as was the case in 2011, it will now be twice in 2015,” he said.
He denied that the timetable was designed to favour any party or candidate, saying: “In any case, no candidate has even emerged from any party not to talk of favouring him or her. So, we have the National elections coming first and the state elections next in line.
“There is no way the timetable can lead to a bandwagon effect as being claimed. What bandwagon are we talking about when the National Elections would have been concluded?
“We gave a two-week gap in between the National Election and State Assembly election to make sure that all logistic challenges are properly addressed.
“We want a free and fair poll; we want to conduct elections which will be acceptable to all Nigerians.”
Jega, who spoke on INEC’s preparedness ahead of 2015 elections, in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) said: “When we fix dates for elections, we stick to them and do not just make changes except something bad happens.
“In 2011, we had some challenges with the National Assembly elections and had to move it forward by one week.
“But in 2015 general elections, the dates have been fixed and we do not intend to make changes. We are not prepared as a body to conduct all elections in one day, that is why we are starting with two categories for now,’’ he said
He said the Commission looked at best global practices before merging the Presidential and National Assembly elections to hold on the same day, while the Gubernatorial and State Assembly elections would hold on the same day.
He also said that the continuous voters’ registration exercise would hold from June to September this year to enable those who had attained the age of 18 to get registered.
Jega, who had earlier presented a paper at a lecture on “ The 2015 Election and INEC” at the UK Centre for Strategic and International Studies, listed logistics, attitude of the political class and delay in amendment to the legal framework, as some challenges to elections in the country.
He said that the Commission had taken into consideration some lapses from the Anambra elections, adding that it would not use the Added Voters’ Register (AVR) for the 2015 polls.
He, however, said that such names would be transferred to the electronic register before elections to avoid what happened during the Anambra governorship election.
He further said that the Commission had improved on its synergy with security agencies, while stressing the need for police protection for electoral staff especially those at the polling centres.
The INEC boss also stressed the need for more collaboration with development partners, and listed capacity building and technology as areas where assistance would be required.
“Such partnership in capacity building will address the problem of skill gaps. We also face a systematic challenge with data gathering, for example, removing names of the deceased from the voter’s register, so we need the right technology for this,” he added.