Off-cycle Guber Election: INEC Concerned Over Spate of Court Orders

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has expressed concern over the spate of judgements and orders from courts on the November 11 off-cycle governorship election in Bayelsa, Imo and Kogi States.

The INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, said that such orders could affect the cost of the election as well as pose a challenge to the electoral management process.

Yakubu said this on Tuesday in Abuja at the commission’s quarterly meeting with leaders of political parties ahead of the guber election.

As part of the wider consultation with stakeholders, the Hon. Chairman of INEC, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, and members of the Commission are presently in a meeting with Political Parties representatives to further discuss and address various issues relating to the coming off-cycle… pic.twitter.com/CKv2GqhDfu

— INEC Nigeria (@inecnigeria) October 24, 2023

“On the issue of candidature, the commission is concerned about the spate of recent judgments and orders of court in respect of the nomination, substitution or disqualification of candidates after all the sensitive materials have been printed.

“The reprinting of the materials in compliance with court orders within a short period of time is not only expensive but the management of the process very challenging.

“Although the commission has already published the final list of candidates for the three states, four recent court orders have compelled us to review the list.

“These changes have been reflected in the updated list of parties and candidates on our website. However, this decision is without prejudice to any pending appeal by the affected candidates or their political parties,” said Prof. Mahmood Yakubu.

 

Prof. Yakubu also advised political parties to consider the submission of names of agents as important as the nomination of candidates for election, as not all the political parties had nominated agents for all the polling units and even the collation centres in the three states: Bayelsa, Imo, and Kogi.

“In the next few days, INEC would publish the detailed distribution of agents uploaded by all political parties for the public view.

“I am glad to report that the printing of agents’ identity cards will be completed this weekend. This will allow political parties ample time to distribute the cards to their agents.

“All the identity cards are QR Code-readable to ensure maximum security and to avoid impersonation by unaccredited persons,” he said while condemning the spate of violence involving parties and candidates in the three states.

READ MORE: INEC Delivers Non-sensitive Materials to Kogi, Imo and Bayelsa States 

Yakubu also said that the INEC had delivered all non-sensitive materials for the elections to the three states, adding that the training of various categories of ad hoc staff was ongoing.

READ ALSO: Off-cycle Guber Elections: INEC Begins Recruitment of Ad hoc Staff

“We conducted the mock accreditation of voters and the upload of results to our IReV portal using the BVAS. Stakeholder engagements are ongoing.

“Our state offices have concluded the readiness assessment of our facilities as well as the movement of critical facilities to our 56 local government offices across the three states,” said the INEC chairman.

In his remarks, the Inter-party Advisory Council (IPAC) Chairman, Mr Sani Yabagi, urged the INEC to use the November governorship election to deal with the issue of confidence deficit among the citizenry.

Remarks by National Chairman Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC) Egnr. Yabagi. Y Sani

There is no doubt that INEC is showing its best efforts in its preparations in spite of obvious encumbrances. However, a lot more needs to be done to ensuring that elections in Nigeria are… pic.twitter.com/5ies1fzqCv

— INEC Nigeria (@inecnigeria) October 24, 2023

Sani said that the 2023 general election presented Nigeria with numerous challenges and controversies, leading to enormous challenges in the electoral processes.

“It is essential for INEC, as the custodian of our democracy, to address this issue comprehensively.

“To reaffirm citizens’ confidence, INEC must continue to demonstrate impartiality, transparency and a commitment to conducting free, fair, and credible elections.

“This is not only a moral imperative but a necessary step towards preserving the integrity of our democratic system,” he said.

Sani said that although the commission was doing its best in its preparations in spite of obvious encumbrances, a lot more needed to be done in ensuring that elections in the country were credible and also substantially comply with the provisions of the 2022 Electoral Act.

He also called on the INEC to work diligently in persuading security agencies to play by the rules of engagement and resist the temptation of being used by desperate politicians.

“The involvement of security agencies in the electoral process, when it becomes unavoidable, must be based on professionalism, neutrality, and a commitment to the defence of our democracy, rather than partisan interests.

“The citizens must feel secure in their participation in the electoral process, knowing that their safety and security are assured.

“The present precarious state of insecurity in the country and in particular the three states, where the off-cycle elections will be taking place, poses a real threat to full participation of the citizens in the exercise,” he noted.

 

 

 

NAN