INEC
CAN’T GUARANTEE CONCLUSIVE ELECTIONS IN 2019 –CHAIRMAN
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| INEC CHAIRMAN, PROF. MAHMOOD YAKUBU |
The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral
Commission, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, says given the challenges and malpractices
that have marred elections both in the past and in recent times in the country,
the commission cannot guarantee that the general elections in 2019 will be
conclusive.
He said any attempt to give such assurance at
this time would be second-guessing the outcome of the election, noting that it
had become inevitable for the commission to declare some elections
inconclusive.
The INEC boss, who spoke when he led some staff
of the commission, including a national commissioner, Mr. Solomon Soyebi on
Friday, stated that if everyone, including the staff of the commission, the
voters, politicians and other stakeholders, play by the rules, there would be
no inconclusive election.
He said, “We can’t second-guess to say this is the outcome of an election
before it happens, unless we are not conducting elections. We hope it won’t
lead to that, but if it happens, the constitution has a way out of it.
“There is no way the
commission will declare any election conclusive where the threshold is not met.
We can only declare an election conclusive when we are satisfied with the law
and electoral act because all elections are governed by constitutional
provisions, provisions of the electoral act and our guidelines. This is the
challenge that we face, but we must express it because we (INEC) will not
compromise.
“The constitution of this
country provides condition for making return in an election. If that threshold
is not met, can INEC make a declaration? We can’t, under the law, and if you do
so the court will nullify the election and then we incur costs to do the
election again.
“As to what will happen
in 2019, only God knows, but we will abide by the provisions of the
constitution, the electoral law and our guidelines in making declarations. We
can only hope for the best.” Read more
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