Constitutional, Legal Amendments can’t Stop Electoral Crises, Says INEC Chairman

The National Chairman, Independent National Electoral Commission
(INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, Tuesday said relying on
constitutional and legal amendments alone cannot solve the array of
electoral crises in the country.

Yakubu, while delivering his keynote address at the public
presentation of the report of the 2019 general election titled,
“Women’s participation in the 2019 general election from an
accountability perspective: Kano and Oyo under spot light,”
organised by the Nigerian Women Trust Fund (NWTF), also said the
commission is determined to ensure that free, fair and credible
elections are conducted at all times.

Present at the the public presentation held in Ibadan, the Oyo
State capital, are the INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner in Oyo
State, Mr Mutiu Agboke; Administrative Secretary of INEC in Kano
State, Jibril Musa; Chief Executive Officer, NWTF, Ms. Mufuliat
Fijabi; NOA Director in Oyo State, Mrs. Dolapo Dosumu; Founder,
Shafaudeen in Islam, Prof. Sabit Olagoke; and female politicians,
among others.

Yakubu, who spoke through INEC National Commissioner, Dr.
Adekunle Ogunmola, insisted that Nigerians should erase the notion
that constitutional and electoral act amendment is the only means
to solve the electoral challenges the country is facing, stating
that the way out is for a change in attitude of major stakeholders
such as political parties, politicians, women, youth and policy
markers in the country.

The INEC chairman, who remarked that most reports on elections
in the country have recommended electoral law reform, warned that
Nigerians must be careful not to fall into the trap of believing
that an end would come to electoral crises through constitutional
or legal amendments.

According to him, “The commission is conscious of its
responsibilities and expectations of all Nigerians and is
determined to ensure that free, fair and credible elections are
conducted at all times and has therefore commenced the process of
studying these reports and will harvest all the recommendations
from this and other observer reports with a view to deepening
democracy in Nigeria. It will take into consideration the reports
of previous committees on electoral reform, and judgments of
election petition tribunals, among others.

“Most of the reports recommendations have called for electoral
law reform. While it is right and rational to alter the
constitution and amend the laws to take on new, emerging and novel
issues that may have arisen, there is need to be careful not to
fall into the trap of believing that every electoral challenge must
be solved through constitutional or electoral act amendment.
Constitutional and legal amendments alone cannot solve the
challenges in conducting elections. There is need for a change in
attitude of major stakeholders.

“The commission has played major roles to advance the electoral
and legal framework in Nigeria in the past, and will continue to do
so.

“Regarding the issue of submission of a candidate’s name by a
party, section 31 of the electoral act states that once a party
submits the name of a candidate, INEC could not reject it under any
condition whatsoever. The political parties used this provision to
perpetuate injustice but recently with the provisions of section
87, the commission took the case all the way to the Supreme Court
and issues have been clarified.”

The Chief Executive Officer, Nigerian Women Trust Fund (NWTF),
Hajia Mufuliat Fijabi, in her presentation, recommended that
bringing those who indulge in vote trading to book will go a long
way in sanitizing the electoral process.

“Security agencies have to re-strategize on how to assist the
election management bodies to curb both vote trading and electoral
violence. Bringing those who indulge in vote trading and bringing
them to book will go a long way to de-moneytize our electoral
process.

“There is a need to streamline and ensure that there is a law
pegging how much each political party can charge as nomination fee.
This was part of the provisions of the amended Electoral Act
amended bill that President Buhari refused to assent to in 2018.
Voter education is critical to discourage the electorate from
selling their votes and encouraging them to shun corrupt electoral
practices.

“Electoral Offences Commission (EOC) should be set up to relieve
INEC of the herculean task of prosecution of electoral offenders.
The recommendation for EOC and Tribunal had been made since 2008 by
Justice Uwais Presidential Committee on Electoral Reform. A bill to
back that proposal up had been before the 8th National Assembly, it
would be heartwarming to have that bill passed and sent to the
president for assent,” she said.