Claims by Nigerians of APC being a fundamentalist organisation were buttressed by the manner with which the rivers rerun election was conducted.
The entire country was suffused with undenied and substantiated claims of unprecedented interferences with the electoral process by both the Military and INEC officials in cahoots with stalwarts of the APC under the command and control of Minister for Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi.
The grand conspiracy to subvert the will of Rivers people by military fiat notwithstanding, from every part of the State, stories abound of how citizens rose to the challenge and resisted every conceivable attempt to undermine their constitutionally guaranteed rights to exercise their franchise without fear or favour.
Unfortunately, there were casualties. There were victims; those who paid some price and, indeed, the ultimate price to preserve democracy and uphold the rule of law in Nigeria. But for the actions of those courageous citizens, Nigeria’s democracy would have moved several miles ahead in reverse gear and scuttled the gains of yesteryears by the thrust of our present era of political rascality.
From all indications, INEC appeared set to sabotage the Rivers Rerun election by deliberately refusing to attend to claims, prior to the election, by the Rivers State Government of the compromised recruitment of Ad-hoc staff.
In addition, the blunt refusal by INEC to investigate claims of bias and electoral malpractices by its personnel has further compounded its claim of integrity, credibility and neutrality. No report has been presented of actions intended to be carried out by INEC to discipline its personnel caught compromising the integrity of the election. Nothing has been done, to this day, over a week after the elections were conducted.
The most unfortunate action by INEC is the refusal to release collated results of already conducted and concluded elections, perhaps for not going the way of the APC; an action that reminds the entire country of the June 12 saga that thwarted the will and mandate of Nigerians during our supposedly foreclosed military dictatorship of yore. The refusal by INEC to announce the results and declare winners speaks volumes. But above all, it challenges the neutrality of this INEC and questions its capacity to conduct free and fair elections in Nigeria, especially going forward as we approach 2019.
Since the decision of INEC to withhold results of conducted elections without cause and against the provisions of extant laws, tensions have escalated across the country, which, IF NOT DOUSED can lead to civil unrest, as many see the action by INEC, the military and the APC as a dress rehearsal of what is to come in the General Election of 2019. And one wonders why institutions set up to protect the will and mandate of citizens would take the centre stage in undermining constitutionally protected rights.
Presumably, due to pressure from Nigerians and the international community, INEC appears to have shifted its ground. It has said it would announce results it believes were conducted in SUBSTANTIAL COMPLIANCE WITH THE ELECTORAL ACT. While that may sound great, INEC must be reminded that it is not its duty to take on the role of the courts. INEC’s duty is to conduct elections and announce the results in accordance with the law. Whether an election is conducted in compliance with the law or not is for the courts to determine rather than INEC. INEC is bound by laws and must desist from making statements and taking actions that continue to instigate and promote strife in the polity.
We are a nation of laws not a banana Republic.
Oraye St. Franklyn Esq.
Senior Special Assistant (New Media)
