INEC, Threat to 2019 Polls, Says Ekweremadu

The Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu has described the
Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as a threat to the
2019 general election in the country.

Ekweremadu, who spoke in Abuja on Tuesday against the background
of Saturday’s governorship poll in Osun State which the electoral
body declared inconclusive, said what transpired in Osun last
weekend was a clear indication that INEC will be a clear threat to
the February 2019 elections.

According to him, the fast-declining independence of the
election management body as well as vote-buying syndrome and misuse
of security agencies are identified major problems ahead of the
2019 general election.

Ekweremadu while faulting INEC for declaring the Osun
governorship election as inconclusive, said the commission was
“descending into the arena”.

He made the observations while receiving a joint high-level
delegation of the International Republican Institute (IRI) and the
National Democratic Institute (NDI), Washington DC, USA, which was
on a preliminary visit to Nigeria ahead of its planned Joint
International Elections Observer Mission during the 2019 general
election.

He said: “Prior to 2010 electoral reforms, INEC was barely
independent. It was the 2010 Electoral Act and constitution
amendments that deepened the independence of the electoral body and
strengthened the electoral system as evident in the 2011 and 2015
elections.

He noted that as the nation heads towards 2019 poll, there have
been a lot of challenges, particularly the challenges of
implementing the existing laws; and this has retarded the country,
instead of making progress.

“INEC needs to exercise the independence conferred on it by
previous electoral reforms to be able to stand its ground,
irrespective of whoever or whichever party that is in government,
whether APC or PDP. It should not tend towards the government that
is in power.

“Looking at Osun State, for instance, an election took place,
somebody won from the results declared at the polling units, ward
collation centres, local government collation centres, and the
state collation centre. But contrary to the provisions of our
electoral laws, INEC has asked the people to go back and repeat
some of the elections. That is completely unacceptable,” he
said.

Ekweremadu stated that under the electoral legal regime, once
results are declared, you cannot go back on it, adding that it is
only the tribunal that can order for election to be rerun, not the
electoral commission.

He also stressed the issues of vote-buying and abuse of security
agencies, saying: “One of the greatest challenges we have is the
issue of vote buying, which was not in existence before now. Vote
buying emerged because the electoral reforms have tried to block a
number of loopholes that have helped people to rig elections in the
past.

“We are hoping to handle the issue legislatively and probably
make it one of the reasons you can challenge an election at the
tribunal and also put stiff penalties to ensure that this is
discouraged. We are also looking at ways of addressing the issue
through technology.”

Speaking on the deployment of soldiers for election duties, he
submitted that: “The deployment of security personnel has been a
major challenge because what we have experienced in the past few
years is that they are often partisan.

“There are so many allegations of intimidation of voters and
provision of cover for those buying and selling votes,” Ekweremadu
added.

Earlier in his speech, the leader of the 10-man delegation, Mr.
Mvemba Dizolele, said the team was in Nigeria to witness the Ekiti
and Osun elections and also consult with key stakeholders ahead of
its Joint Observer Mission during the 2019 elections.

“We are here to watch the Ekiti and Osun elections, to consult
with stakeholders to see what lessons we can take and where there
are gaps, which we can improve ahead of the 2019 general election,”
Dizolele said.