Electoral malpractice: INEC vows to prosecute indicted staff

THE Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has vowed to apply the letters of the law in punishing any staff of the commission ‎indicted by elections petitions tribunals across the country.
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Speaking in Abuja at the public presentation of the final report on the 2015 elections by the Civil Society Situation Room, Acting Chairman of INEC , Mrs. Amina Zakari said: “I would like to make it clear that electoral malpractices will not be tolerated as the commission will continue to drive transparency and effectiveness.

“Any INEC official found wanting in the tribunal will be punished to the full extent of the law.‎”

However, Mrs. Zakari observed that there had been a decrease in the number of petitions challenging elections conducted by the commission owing to remarkable improvement in the conduct of the elections.

“In 2007, a total of 1,290 petitions were filed in the tr‎ibunals;, in 2011, it was 732; while 663 petitions were filed in 2015. The reduction is driven by improvements in our electoral process but we would like to see a continued downward trend”, she stated.
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She said the commission will use the Kogi and Bayelsa upcoming elections as an opportunity to continue to display its improved process and rigour.

She said: “Universal suffrage is every Nigerian’s right, INEC, the political parties, civil society organisation and government should be vehicles to support every Nigerian in exercising their right. We need to continue to improve and encourage participation in the electoral process.

“In this vein we are serious about our Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) process. We are going to embark on the CVR exercises in Kogi and Bayelsa. Those registered will have their cards printed and in a timely fashion, voters’ transfers will also be supported for those two states.

“In conducting elections in both states, the commission will apply lessons learnt from the previous elections with the Stand Alone Governorship elections in Anambra, Ekiti and Osun states and the general elections.‎”

She said the smart card readers needed improvements despite the successes the commission recorded with the machines, noting that the commission’s effort at constituency delimitation and polling units review were met with stiff resistance from some stakeholders, who erroneously felt that the move was too close to the general elections and meant to favour some political parties, regions or individuals.

Zakari added that, “In view of its sensitive nature, the commission shelved that in order not to serve as a distraction to the elections.”

Presenting the report, the Executive Director of Policy and Legal Advocacy Center (PLAC)‎ Clement Nwankwo sought the amendment of the constitution to bring Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) under the control and direction of INEC headquarters through appointments of State Directors of elections to replace the RECs.