Electoral Reforms: Yiaga Africa Seeks Financial Autonomy For INEC

The Federal Government has been urged to strengthen the financial capacity of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) by providing legal timelines for the release of funds to the commission.

Executive Director of a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), Yiaga Africa, Samson Itodo, made the call on Wednesday at a Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) round table on electoral reforms in the country held at the Labour House in Abuja.

The round table was organised by the NLC to discuss critical reforms in the electoral process.

Itodo said the the financial timelines among others, were some of the reforms needed to ensure the holding of credible elections in the country.

He also clamoured that the power to appoint the Chairman of INEC and commissioners should be taken from the President as it would go a long way to guarantee fairness in the work of the electoral commission.

He said: “If you look at our 2019 election report, we have it on good record that funding for the 2019 election, a large chunk of it was not provided to INEC until about a few weeks to the election. And it was clear that the government intentionally delayed funding for INEC to perform and deliver on the 2019 elections. That is very problematic for the integrity of our electoral process.

“And so it’s important to have legal  stipulations on clear timelines of when funds should be released to INEC to conduct elections.”

The Yiaga executive director also clamoured for electronic accreditation and transmission of election results, adding, “The second is the legal recognition of electronic accreditation as well as transmission of results.”

Itodo further called for reforms in the area of election result declaration under duress.

He said: “The other issue is the need to subject declarations or returns made by returning officers under duress or  controversial circumstances, because the law is very very clear. Under section 68 that once a declaration is made, only the court can upturn or review that declaration. And that is why politicians have capitalised on that section 68 to circumvent elections and all they’re interested in, is holding officials to declare results. Declare and let’s go to court

“We can introduce amendments to our law that actually subject disclarations made under duress or controversial circumstances to review by the commission.

“The other issue is also the power to reject candidates or what you call disqualified candidates. It’s been a subject of contestation. Even with the recent judgment released on the bayelsa governorship election, where a political party fielded an underage candidate and INEC is reported to have written to the political party to notify them they filed an invalid nomination. When you have cases of those nature it is important that relevant sections, particularly section 87 and 31 of the electoral act should be amended to give INEC that power to disqualify a candidate where  political parties do not file valid nomination.

“So these are some of the issues that for us we consider priority issues. Also the issue of political inclusion, women, youth and persons with disabilities.”

In his remarks, the NLC President, Comrade Ayuba Wabba, said it was  important to have critical reforms in the electoral process.

Wabba noted: “Having participated in the process of election from 1999 to date, we have seen that there are still a lot of rooms for improvement in our electoral process, be it on the aspect of the law, be it on the aspect or how to choose candidate, be it in the aspect of inclusion, particularly gender and youths.

“Those are areas that we need critical reforms and therefore we don’t want reforms that will come at the eve of election. We want these reforms to come a bit earlier before election so that people get used to those reforms or amendments to the acts and I think this is the right time to try to canvass for that.

“And we have gotten the commitment of the National Assembly to say that they are willing and ready to make sure that reforms processes are driven much more earlier. They gave commitment to the effect that by December, all set and done we should be discussing the new electoral act.”

He said NLC is canvassing that people who perpetrate electoral violence should be brought to justice.