INEC Time Table Guidelines – National Assembly on the Right Path

The Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria has empowered the National Assembly with the responsibility of making laws that will ensure societal order; peaceful coexistence of Nigerian people; and good governance of the Federation.  The National Assembly is not restricted by any law and constitutional provision as to when such laws could be made.

It is against this background that we felt uncomfortable by the jaundiced criticism and remarks made against the effort of House of Representatives to streamline the electoral process in some quarters for unknown motives.

The House amended section 25 of the Principal Act and substituted it with a new section 25 (1). According to the section, the elections shall be held in the following order: (a) National Assembly election (b) State Houses of Assembly and Governorship elections (c) Presidential election. Similarly, section 87 was amended by adding a new section 87 (11) with a marginal note "time for primaries of political parties among others, by so doing the House has not violated any sections of the Constitution which is the organic law of the land.  The House only amended an existing electoral law, why the hullaballoo?

Since 1999 till 2015 general elections, INEC has not adopted a fixed particular order the general elections timetable must followed.  In 2003 the governorship and States House of Assembly was first to be conducted and in 2011, National Assembly elections was conducted as the first elections.  More importantly, the amendment is not limited to the INEC time table guidelines alone, some other lacuna were resolved like the issue of candidate death before the final election results are announced, as was the case in Kogi State governorship election and also, the spending limit of candidates.

Democratic election is not merely a technical exercise and the success does not rest exclusively with the electoral authority. Independent National Electoral Commission is charged with providing an effective and neutral setting for voting, the actions of political actors and their supporters, security agencies media and voters significantly impacted on the integrity of the electoral process.  Each of these actors contributed to the outcome of any election. The mission of INEC in 2019 is to serve as an independent and effective EMB committed to conduct of free, fair and credible elections for sustainable democracy in Nigeria.

Conscious of the challenges ahead of Nigeria on the need for free and fair conduct of the 2019 general elections, we are determined not to rest on our oars in mounting more public enlightenment programmes across the country evolving a new democratic culture, good enough to secure a better future for every Nigerians. We appeal to less active political parties, it is not compulsory that a registered party must produce Presidential or Governorship candidates, with low level literacy combined with poor logistics, INEC may have problem in balloting process in 2019.  

 

 

Olufemi Aduwo

President, Rights Monitoring Group &

CEO, Centre for Convention on Democratic lntegrity {CCDI}

 

NB

Olufemi Aduwo served as a member, INEC Election Monitoring Board, 2009-2010

{The Board that conducted Anambra State Governorship Election 2009};

Member, INEC Election Observer's Mission to United States, 2009

United Kingdom Election Observer [from Nigeria} 2006; and

Observed Brexit Referendum, 2016.

CCDI has Consultative Status of ECOSOC/United Nations