SELFISH interests may scupper the 2015 general elections, as the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has cried out over a recent campaign in the media by partisan groups to tar the reputation of its leadership, particularly the Chairman, Prof. Attahiru Jega
In a statement sent to The Guardian yesterday by the Chief Press Secretary to INEC Chairman, Kayode Idowu, the agency said the campaign has so far been waged in the form of serial press reports of alleged financial misdeeds, either directly committed or approved by the chairman of the commission.
“Expectedly,” it said, “the reports were no more than wild allegations, with no iota of proof or evidence to substantiate them. Few of these reports, indeed, crossed the line of journalistic decorum, and are accordingly being processed for libel litigation.
It further acknowledge information that the campaign would “not be left at the level of press reports,” but that there are “designs to upscale the plot into public displays of hostility towards INEC, such as through rented street rallies against its present leadership, among other measures.
“The whole point of this devious campaign, obviously, is to deflate the integrity of the commission and cast doubt on its credibility and ability to conduct the 2015 general election in accordance with international best standards.
“The commission hereby reassures the public of its commitment to uphold its integrity, fairness and impartiality as an umpire of the electoral process. It will stay focused on its programmes to deliver elections that will be world class in fairness and credibility come 2015, despite the daunting challenges.”
Meanwhile, INEC has concluded arrangements to introduce a card reader for voter registration and accreditation, the Cross River State Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Mr. Mike Igini, disclosed yesterday.
Speaking during the unveiling of INEC’s strategic plan for 2012-2016, Igini said “the commission is poised to conduct free, fair and credible elections in 2015 hence the need for the introduction of the card reader to aid registration and accreditation of voters.”
He noted that lack of internal democracy in political parties, insecurity and numerous election-related litigations had over the years threatened the effective working of the commission.
According to him, “the exercise is going to be a follow-up to the biometric exercise which the commission did in previous elections and this is to ensure that every voter has a permanent registration card.”
The REC pointed out that the card reader would have a code restricted to one polling unit to help sustain and achieve the principle of one-man one-vote, which the nation has always craved.
Igini explained that the strategic plan is designed to help the commission manage the electoral processes better and plan for changes in a systematic way to serve as a recipe for conducting credible elections in 2015.
He assured that the management and deployment of ad-hoc staff would be improved with the creation of a database and ranking of ad-hoc staff to aid training and tracking of performance in the 2015 elections.
Also speaking, the Chairman of Cross River State Independent Electoral Commission (CROSIEC), Sir Patrick Otu, blamed political parties for low turnout at elections, as they most often field unpopular and unacceptable candidates.
Nevertheless, the Obong of Calabar, Edidem Ekpo Okon Abasi Otu, has stressed the need for a robust synergy with traditional institutions since they are the closest to the people. Such synergy with other stakeholders, according to him, will go a long way in helping INEC to conduct free and fair elections.
Source: Guardian
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