Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, has urged officials of State Independent Electoral Commissions (SIECs) to learn how to abide by the provisions of the law to enable them to conduct credible elections at the local government level.
Yakubu said this when he hosted the leadership of the state electoral bodies in his office yesterday in Abuja.
The INEC chairman told the SIEC officials that their activities often reflected the commission negatively.
He said many Nigerians believed that the various SIECs were appendages of the INEC.
Yakubu explained that while both bodies were created through the provisions of the constitution, INEC was constitutionally empowered to perform certain functions that SIECs wer4e3 not empowered to perform.
The INEC chairman assured the SIEC officials of constant collaboration to enable them to accomplish their tasks.
He said the recent announcement by a state electoral commission for the conduct of local government elections within 21 days was not only a violation of the extant laws and the judgment of the Supreme Court, but a recipe for anarchy.
Yakubu said: “I want to draw your attention to the judgment of the Supreme Court on the conduct of local government elections. Conducting local government elections without having the mandatory notice long before the election contravenes the judgment of the Supreme Court.
“A recent announcement by a state electoral commission, which gave only a 21-day notice, is not only a violation of the law and the subsisting judgment of the Supreme Court; it is also a practical problem.
“Within 21 days, how do you expect political parties to conduct primaries, nominate candidates, organise campaigns, and the electoral commission to conduct voter education, recruit and train ad hoc staff, manage logistics, and organise security for the elections? It is practically impossible to do these within 21 days.
“So, as the umbrella body of state electoral commissions, carry this message to your members as to the importance of complying with statutory timelines for the conduct of local government elections.
“Money is never greatly available for the conduct of elections and electoral activities. But your challenges actually go beyond funding. Without a clear definition of processes and procedures, no amount of money will solve any problem.”
Source: The Nations Online