No certificate of return for candidates declared winner under duress – INEC

The Independent National Electoral Commission has said it will
not issue Certificates of Return to candidates in places where its
officials are held hostage or forced to declare winners under
duress in the governorship and state Houses of Assembly elections
on Saturday (tomorrow).

The commission also threatened to record zero vote and cancel
the results of polling units where its personnel deliberately
failed to deploy the Smart Card Readers.

The Chairman of INEC, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, said this on
Thursday during the meeting of the Inter-Agency Consultative
Committee on Election Security held at the commission’s Conference
Room in Abuja.

Yakubu said, “The commission is concerned that many of our
materials, including ballot boxes, voting cubicles, voter registers
and Smart Card Readers were lost to acts of hooliganism and
thuggery in the elections held two weeks ago. Most worrisome is the
attack on electoral officials.

“Some of our staff were abducted and taken hostage in an attempt
to disrupt elections or influence the outcome. In fact, some of the
supplementary elections were caused by such acts of thuggery.

“I am confident that working together with the security
agencies, we will consolidate the largely peaceful conduct of the
Presidential and National Assembly elections while also taking
decisive steps to deal with the minority of violators’ intent on
disrupting the conduct of peaceful elections.

“However, the commission will not tolerate the act of holding
our officials hostage and forcing them to declare winners under
duress. Where such occurs, the commission will not reward bad
behaviour by issuing them Certificates of Return.

“We have once again reconfigured the Smart Card Readers for the
elections on Saturday. The use of the card readers is mandatory and
there will be no exemption to their deployment for accreditation of
voters.

“Under our regulations and guidelines, there are clear penalties
for the deliberate failure to deploy them on the part of our
members of staff. Where such happens with the connivance of
communities, the result of election in the polling unit(s) will be
cancelled and zero vote will be recorded.”

According to him, governorship election would be conducted in 29
states, state assembly poll will elect 991 members of Houses of
Assembly in all the states of the Federation, six Chairmen as well
as 62 councillors for the Area Councils in the Federal Capital
Territory.

The INEC chairman said that in addition to elections into 1,082
constituencies nationwide, the commission would conduct
supplementary elections in 14 states of the federation covering
seven Senatorial Districts and 24 federal constituencies.

The supplementary elections, he said, were necessitated by
electoral fraud, violence and thuggery perpetrated by political
thugs and politicians in the February 23 elections.

The INEC chairman also stated that materials for the polls on
Saturday had been delivered to all states and the FCT.

With this arrangement, Yakubu said the commission was confident
that all polling units would open at 8am nationwide.

INEC also hinted that Cs of R for governors and
deputy-governors-elect, members of state Houses of Assembly-elect
and chairmen and councillors for the FCT “shall be presented in
each state of the federation by the Supervising National
Commissioners and the Resident Electoral Commissioners on a date to
be announced next week.

For Senatorial Districts and Federal Constituencies in which
winners have already emerged, Yakubu said the commission would
issue their Certificates of return next week.

He said, “On behalf of the commission, I extend our deepest
condolence to the families of those who lost their lives, including
personnel of the security agencies. We are glad that the police
have made several arrests and investigation is ongoing.

“I wish to assure Nigerians that the commission will work
closely with the police to ensure the diligent prosecution of all
violators of our electoral laws. Citizens are asking for effective
but non-intrusive protection before, during and immediately after
the elections in which their rights are respected and their choices
safeguarded.”