African Bar Association urges INEC to ensure free, fair polls

The African Bar Association (AFBA) has urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to ensure that it conducts the rescheduled general elections in a free, fair and credible manner.

    At its maiden press briefing in Lagos, AFBA interim executive committee president, Mr Hannibal Uwaifo, said the Association would pay close attention to the general elections even though it was not accredited as an observer by the INEC because it applied late due to the reorganisation of its executive.

    Uwaifo said AFBA would do its bit towards ensuring violence-free exercise. “We are going to be monitoring the elections from our own vantage point. I also know that our other colleagues in the African Bar Association are also monitoring it, such as the Director of Information and Protocol. We’ll be issuing statements of a broad nature in due course. 

    “We’ll encourage a fair electoral process, an independent umpire, political tolerance and we will be discouraging violence. We’ll urge those who win to be magnanimous in victory and those who lose to take it with all sense of equanimity”, Uwaifo said.

    Members of the interim executive are Uwaifo (Nigeria), Mr Dev Erriah, Vice-President (Mauritius); Mrs Flavania Charles (Tanzania), General Secretary; Mrs Obele Akinniranye, Deputy General Secretary; Mr Nyamordi Ochieng-Nyamogo, Director of Information/Protocol (Kenya) and Mr George Chisanga (Zambia). Mr Stenford Moyo of Zimbabwe is the governing council chair, while Mrs Funmi Oluyede is the co-chair.