After a two-day retreat in Calabar, Cross River State, the commission said it shall explore legal ways to get the additional time it required. A statement by Paul Kaigama, the Commission’s secretary said, “Having examined the Commission’s detailed Action Plan for the voter registration and elections, the Retreat noted that the timeline for the implementation of this Plan is very tight.”
A plea for more time
He said, “Consequently, the commission shall endeavour to engage all the relevant stakeholders with a view to exploring all legal avenues for extension of time to enable the commission to deliver on the aspirations of Nigerians for a credible voters’ register and free, fair and credible elections.” Attahiru Jega, the commission’s chairman has repeatedly harped on the ardous task of conducting a vital voters’ registration exercise and general elections within six months of his taking office.
The task was made harder by the late release of approved funds by the federal government. President Goodluck Jonathan also took many weeks to assent to the new Electoral Act which the commission needs to conduct the election.
The commission appealed to all political parties to adhere to the Electoral Act and conduct their congresses and primaries within the law.
Barely six weeks to the commencement of the voters’ registration, as stipulated in the timetable released, the commission is yet to officially name the IT firms that are to provide the 120,000 units of Direct Data Capture Machines, needed for the exercise.
Mr. Jega’s aide, Kayode Idowu, told NEXT yesterday that the companies will be announced by the chairman “when the time is ripe,” further fuelling concerns about the ability of the body to conduct successful polls in the face of obvious time constraint.
At several fora, Mr. Jega himself has said the commission would prefer an extension of the election timetable, which is time-bound by the electoral law. The more time available to the commission, the better its chances of doing a good job, he had argued.
However, the commission said if it succeeds in getting more time, although it will affect key dates in the elections timetable, the inauguration date of May 29, 2011, will remain “sacrosanct”, the commission said.
In the other decisions arrived at the retreat, the commission urged the National Assembly to enact a law for the establishment of an Electoral Offences Tribunal, in the hope that “there is the need to severely punish electoral offenders to serve as deterrent to others.” The Commission also said it has developed a software which will be field-tested before the commencement of the voters’ registration, and vowed to ensure strict compliance to legal provisions governing the conduct of congresses, conventions and primaries by political parties.
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