2015 Election Timetable: We Were Guided By Reason, Not Sentiment – Jega Chibuzo Ukaibe — February 3, 2014 The chairman, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Attahiru Jega, has denied allegations that the commission drafted the recently released timetable for the 2015 general election under pressure. The INEC chairman maintained that the election timetable was informed by logical considerations and not sentiments or ulterior motives. He said the commission was mindful of its own operational effectiveness and global best practices in grouping national elections together on one day, and state elections together on another. The timetable announced two weeks ago by INEC schedules National Assembly and Presidential elections for February 14, 2015, and Governorship as well as State Assembly elections for February 28, 2015. Jega stated this while responding to questions on the 2015 elections after a presentation at a forum at Chatham House, London, over the weekend. His presentation at the public forum which was at the instance of Africa Programme unit of the organisation was entitled ‘2015 Elections in Nigeria: Expectations and Challenges.’ Refuting claims that the commission was pressured to draft the election timetable the way it did, Jega said “nobody has put us under any pressure. We did these things rationally in terms of what we considered best for our country.” He further clarified why elections are staggered ahead of 2015, noting that while some countries conduct elections in one day, Nigeria is not ready to conduct all the elections in one day because of the challenges associated with such. He also disagreed with suggestions that the elections were drastically reordered, when compared to 2011. “As far as we are concerned, the presidential election is not positioned first. What we did is that we combined the National elections, so you can’t say that presidential election is placed first,” he said. On the conduct of elections in February 2015 as against April, the INEC boss said it was meant to allow time for litigations before the commencement of new tenures. He said the timing was in compliance with legal provisions which mandated that elections should be conducted not earlier than 150 days and not later than 30 days before the expiration of relevant tenures. Jega also expressed confidence that the commission will spare no effort to ensure that the challenge of logistics which marred past elections is prevented in future elections, especially the Ekiti and Osun governorships. The Chatham House forum in London was an extension of a similar event organised earlier in the week by the United States Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington DC. Professor Jega was invited to give a keynote speech on ‘2015 Elections in Nigeria: Preparations and Challenges,’ at a public event where leading Nigerian Civil Society activists were panellists. CSO leaders hosted at the event were Clement Nwankwo, executive director, Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre (PLAC) and convener of the Civil Society Situation Room on Elections; Ayisha Oshori, executive director, Nigerian Women Trust Fund; Festus Okoye, chairman of the Independent Election Monitors; Dr Abiola Akiyode-Afolabi, executive director, WARD-C; Jude Ohanele, chairman of South-east Governance Network and Inemo Samiama, director, Stakeholders Democracy Network.
Posted on: Mon, 03 Feb 2014 06:01:25 +0000
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