The Senate on Tuesday condemned the Independent National Electoral Commission for the spate of inconclusive elections it conducted since its new leadership came on board.
The lawmakers, who took turns to criticise INEC when the Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, moved a motion on inconclusive elections, also decried postponement of elections and failure to conduct polls to fill vacant elective positions.
Ekweremadu, while moving the motion, stated that the Senate was aware that the 2010 electoral reforms and the amendment of the 1999 Constitution and the Electoral Act, had placed the country’s electoral system on “globally acclaimed improvements in the 2011 and 2015 general elections.”
He, however, said, “The Senate notes with deep concern that at least 20 states of the federation have no Resident Electoral Commissioners contrary to Section 14(2) of the Third Schedule of the 1999 Constitution. It further notes that INEC cannot function optimally without the full complement of members that will superintend the activities of other personnel.
“The Senate observes that the failure of INEC to conduct reruns within the timeframe ordered by the respective Electoral Petitions Tribunals and courts is in breach of the Electoral Act and Section 76 of the 1999 Constitution, thus endangers the nation’s democracy.”
Ekweremadu described the trend of “inconclusive elections and whimsical postponement of elections” as wrong signals and symptoms that should not be dismissed.
The Deputy Senate President also said the developments from the polls conducted by the commission in recent times had “left so much to be desired being a research sample of the entire population.”
“The Senate is worried about the fate of the 2019 general election in the face of the present state of inconclusive elections and postponements,” he added.
In his submission, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, lamented that a senatorial seat was vacant in Anambra State for one year due to postponements.
Abaribe, who noted that Rivers State had a similar fate, wondered whether INEC was now above the law.
He said, “If INEC conducts an election with just about one-tenth of the membership of the commission, will that be regarded as a legal and legitimate election? There will be an election tomorrow (today) in Edo State; someone could approach a court to say there will be no election because INEC is not properly constituted and the result should be declared null and void.”
The Senate, in a unanimous vote, urged President Muhammadu Buhari to immediately nominate suitably qualified persons to fill the vacant positions at INEC, while asking the commission to immediately conclude all pending polls in the country.
The lawmakers also called for the constitution of an ad hoc committee to hold a public hearing to review INEC’s performance in the last one year and to determine the factors responsible for the perceived decline in the electoral system.
PUNCH
