The Independent National
Electoral Commission (INEC) has called for the amendment of electoral laws to
empower it to withhold certificates of return of candidates declared winners
under duress.
Festus Okoye, chairman of INEC
information and voter education committee, said this at a workshop organised by
the Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre (PLAC), in Abuja on Monday.
The commission had withheld the
certificate of return of Rochas Okorocha, who it claimed was declared winner of
the Imo west senatorial election, under duress but an Abuja court later ruled
that the electoral body has no such powers.
Speaking at the event on Monday,
Okoye said the commission will make proposals to the national assembly which
will clarify and strengthen its powers in relation to declaration and returns
by collation and returning officers.
“Declarations and returns must be
made voluntarily and not through duress and other unwholesome practices,” he
said.
“To this extent, the commission
must retain the discretion to take urgent and remedial actions in clear cases
of the violation of its regulations and guidelines in the conduct of
elections.”
He also said the commission would
propose the review of section 31 of the electoral act, 2010, to enable it
enforce the qualifying threshold of those contesting elections.
“The implication is that the
commission can close its eyes to the nomination of non-Nigerians and infants by
political parties to contest governorship and other elections,” he said.
“The commission is irrevocably
committed to the enhancement of the power of the smart card reader as the
dominant procedure for verification, accreditation and proving over voting in
the electoral process.
“The commission will therefore
seek the incorporation of the smart card reader in section 49 of the Electoral
Act, 2010(as amended). The individuals holding the permanent voters cards must
be the ones voting and not the cards.”
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