INEC screens staff to check irregularities in 2015

    
The Independent National Electoral Commission has commenced screening of its electoral officers with a view to checking electoral irregularities in the 2015 general elections.

The commission also stated that it would conduct elections in all parts of the country, despite the security challenges and even in states where there is emergency rule.

The chairman of INEC, Prof. Attahiru Jega, stated these on Monday in Abuja during an interactive session with title Editors and News Directors in Abuja.

He said, “As I speak with you, we are finalizing screening of our electoral officers to ascertain who and who should be retained for the 2015 general elections. In INEC, we have a few bad eggs. Statistically, they are insignificant. Almost the same number of people who conducted the 2007 election which was said to be the worst were the same people who conducted the 2011 election which is the best.

“Many of them were coerced. When we came in 2010, we told them that we won’t break the law and quietly we have retired, removed and dismissed people. We did structural reorganization of INEC. We have restructured INEC, reduced number of Directorates, and put round pegs in round holes. We have confidence that the 2015 general elections will be much better than 2011 despite the challenges.”

According to him, INEC has prosecuted “over 200 electoral offenders between 2011 and now” adding that over 1 million others are to face prosecution for double registration alone.

The INEC chairman also disclosed that the commission would conduct election in all parts of the country, despite the security challenges.

He said, “Insecurity is a serious challenge to the commission and the entire electoral process. But we are ready to conduct election in any situation. We will do our best and conduct election in every part of the country in 2015. Security challenges are enormous, be it Boko Haram, kidnapping or even armed robbery.

“Elections can be conducted under situations of emergency rule. But all we are saying is that elections will be free and fair where there are minimal security challenges. Under a situation of emergency, many things are likely to happen, either people will be scared of coming out or they will come out and run into security cordons and be molested by security agencies

“Our hope is that by 2015 we will be able to conduct elections in all parts of the country. We are ready to conduct the elections everywhere in this country in 2015. We hope that security challenges will be minimal for us to conduct elections in 2015 and when we get to the bridge, we will cross it.”

Jega also justified the use of members of the National Youth Service Corps saying that there is no country in the world where more than 20 per cent of its electoral commission staff were being used for the conduct of any election.

“At any election year, we use about 300,000 NYSC members, but their use didn’t totally eliminate election fraud which usually arise through inducement by politicians and other forms of electoral fraud. Some of them succumbed. People don’t know that there were ‘corpers’ that have been jailed. Some were reported by us and the NYSC authorities have sanctioned them. But those who perpetrate this are insignificant,” he stressed.

He also ruled out the possibility of conducting all elections in one day in the next election saying the challenges were enormous.

Jega said, “We are hesitant to do election on one day in 2015 because logistics of doing elections on same day are much, the challenges of lack of proper voter education are there. It could be later years but definitely not in 2015.

“Asking us to conduct election in one day is going to create more challenges for us. In Ghana and Kenya which people cite as examples, the infrastructures are better than what we have in Nigeria. The countries which conducted all elections in one day say if given the opportunity, they will not do it. We have done well in 2011 and let’s not bite more than we could chew. As for now, I am sorry to say that we in INEC won’t do election in one day. We will be wasting our time and energy on doing elections in one day.”

The INEC chairman also raised the alarm that “if politicians continue to have the attitude of winner takes all or do or die, then there is problem.”

“Nigerian politicians capitalized on the weakness of voting between 7am-7pm. That led to the Modified Open Ballot System which prevented the possibility of people moving from one place to the other. That was an important reform measure that we adopted”, he stated.

According to him, the challenges being faced by the country in her electoral process will bring value and assist in deepening democracy rather than returning to military rule.

He said, “Since 1999, Nigeria has been lucky that the transition to democracy has not encouraged any incursion of the military. However, the democratic process has been bedeviled by badly conducted elections. In the past, we blame military and now, the civilians are in charge. The governance process has not been encouraging to the extent that ex-President Yar Adua of blessed memory acknowledged fault in the election that brought him to power.

Jega also regretted that some vital components of the Justuce Muhammed Uwais Electoral Committee were not taken into consideration, adding however that over 80 per cent were taken on board.

According to him, when he assumed office as INEC chairman in 2010, “we realized that a lot needed to be done for a free and fair election. We had a constitutional amendment within eight months, this is historical. But simple things that are taken serious in other countries are taken for granted in Nigeria.”

The INEC chairman also outlined the lessons that have been learnt by the commission in the conduct of elections saying thy would assist in the 2015 general polls.

He said, “We have learnt that timely and adequate planning are important for the success of elections. We realize that elections are about openness and transparency. Also partnership goes a long way in enhancing elections credibility. I have been meeting quarterly with representative of the National Security Adviser ahead of the 2015 election and before any election takes place. At the state levels, it has been the same with Commissioners of Police and we intend to do this at the LGs levels before the 2015 polls.”