Posted by By MURPHY GANAGANA, Abuja on
Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Maurice Iwu, has accussed political office holders, especially state governors, of being responsible for the violence during elections in the country.
•Accuses govs of electoral violence
Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Maurice Iwu, has accussed political office holders, especially state governors, of being responsible for the violence during elections in the country.
And for the doubting Thomases, Iwu said the commission has a fall-back option for the 2007 polls, against the backdrop of criticisms trailing the on-going electronic voters registration exercise.
Speaking weekend in Abuja, at a conference on 'Building Partnership for the 2007 General Elections and Beyond" organized by the Nigeria Police Force for civil society groups, Iwu urged the citizenry to rise and challenge their leaders, to play the game by the rules, if the 2007 elections are to be free and fair.
'We have to challenge our leaders. I was forced in one particular state in the South West to refuse to sign my signature on a result because the insecurity in the place was such that there was no way you could have told me that there was a free and fair election. There was a result declared, but I refused to sign the particular certificate because the government of the day in that state participated in the violence. What can the police do when the state government participated in that violence?" the INEC boss querried.
He called on all stakeholders in the political circle to play their respective roles towards having a successful elections in 2007, stressing that the police cannot perform effectively without the necessary support from all and sundry.
However, Iwu said INEC has taken measures to reduce the possibility of violence in the forthcoming polls, noting that the liberalization of the political space which is one of the steps towards a peaceful elections, has drastically reduced the acrimony within the parties since aspirants now have an open playing field that can accommodate everybody.
Another measure, he said, is the commission's decision to collate the ballot at the end of voting at the polling stations where results would be transmitted instantly, making it impossible for political thugs to snatch ballot boxes.
Commenting on the criticisms and raging controversy over the electronic voters registration adopted by INEC, Iwu disclosed that the commission has a fall-back option.
His words: 'People should seek information before they run to conclusion. The only reason why we are cool, calculated and calm, is the fact that we have a Plan B. We even have a Plan C.
'But what we are not going to return to, regardless the amount of pressure, we are not going to subject this country to manual registration where people can have 10 votes depending on their whims and caprices. It has to be one man, one vote. There is no going back on that pledge that the electronic voters register is going to be the determinant factor in our knowing who is supposed to vote and who is not supposed to vote."
Iwu, who acknowledged that conducting election is difficult, said its outcome cannot be comparable to nuclear science. But he assured that INEC will put in place a conducive electoral environment in conjunction with other stakeholders, and particularly, the police.