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TUESDAY JUNE, 9 2009
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CPP, AD disagree on INEC’s proposed staggered elections
Key players in the coujtry's political system on Monday reacted differently to INEC’s proposed staggered arrangements for future polls.
While the Citizens Popular Party (CPP) lauded the arrangement, the Alliance for Democracy (AD) gave it a thumbs-down, saying it would not solve the country’s electoral problems.
CPP’s National Chairman, Chief Maxi Okwu, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos that the idea of staggering elections was welcome but suggested it should not be based on geo-political zones.
``INEC’s arrangement should be based on the various elective positions whereby a percentage of candidates go for elections at a given time as it is practised in the U.S.,’’ he said.
INEC’s Chairman, Prof. Maurice Iwu, had, on June 4 in Abuja, told journalists that the 2011 general elections would not be held on one day if the proposal was given a nod by the National Assembly.
Iwu also said that the commission would not engage ad hoc staff for future elections.
Under the 2006 Electoral Act, elections into a particular category of public offices such as the State and National Assemblies, Governorship and Presidential were held on the same day nationwide except where there are litigations.
Okwu said:``What this translates to is that not all senators, governors or House of Representatives members will have their elections the same year.
``It means that a percentage of these officers will go for election at different times and held every two years,’’ he explained.
The CPP boss said that the decision to discard the use of ad hoc staff in the conduct of future elections would bring some sanity to the electoral system.
``It will be the best thing that will happen to Nigerian elections if it is done. They have wreaked havoc on the system.
``Instead, I support the idea of using youth corps members and people who are well-known and with credible addresses that could be traced,’’ Okwu added.
AD’s National Publicity Secretary, Mr Popoola Ajayi, said that notwithstanding the INEC’s proposal, he doubted the commission’s competence to conduct free and fair polls in the country.
``INEC, as at present constituted, cannot hold free and fair elections in Nigeria, staggered or not.
``The controversies trailing the various re-run elections across the country have shown that staggered election is not the problem of our electoral system,’’ he told NAN.
Ajayi believed that the only way forward was for the National Assembly to pass the Electoral Reform Bill based on the recommendations of the Justice Mohammed Uwais panel.
``True federalism is the solution in which case elections can be held at different levels and at different times without necessarily passing any bill on it into law,’’ he stressed.
Ajayi, however, disagreed with the use of youth corps members as INEC ad hoc staffers, saying it would not guarantee free and fair elections.
``Some youth corps members were bribed in previous elections to manipulate results.
``Our orientation about bribery and rigging is what we need. It does not matter who is used for an election, the individual defect will still manifest,’’ said the AD spokesman.
