06 Aug 2013
INEC Chairman, Prof. Attahiru Jega
By Chuks Okocha
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Monday said Nigerians had in the past used palm kernels in place of thumbprints to register during the registration exercise, but added that such antics as well as multiple registration would be eradicated with the introduction of permanent voters’ cards.
Also the commission said the registration of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as a political party was final and irrevocable, as the action of the commission is right under the law.
It noted that the commission was not restrained by the courts on the deregistration of political parties, as there are three court rulings in favour of INEC with respect to deregistration of political parties.
The commission said so far, there had been three rulings in favour of the commission’s deregistration of political parties as opposed to one that was given last week to Fresh Democratic Party (FDP).
Speaking at the Civil Society Organisations and Other Stakeholders Experience Sharing and Confidence Building Conference on voters’ registration and continuous voters’ registration, INEC’s Director, Information Communication Technology (ICT), Dr. Chidi Nwafor, said: “Many Nigerians, in order to beat the system, used palm kernels to thumbprint the documents, thereby giving room for multiple registration.”
However, he said the palm kernel had been discovered by the commission through the use of data consolidation, automatic finger print index, business rule, and valid register of voters’ technology.
Though the voters’ register for the 2011 general election stood at 73.5 million, Nwafor said there was evidence that six to 20 per cent of the cases were of multiple registration in each state of the federation.
He added that the cleansing of the voters’ register in the 119,973 registration centres had been completed in 34 states, with only Lagos and Kano States pending, but said they would be completed before the end of August.
Giving details on how the cleansing of the permanent voters’ register was done, Nwafor used Anambra State as an example, stating that out of 2,011,746 registered voters in 2011, the cleansing had reduced the total voters in the state to 1,711,061. He also listed several names of multiple registration offenders.
He said the distribution of 40 million permanent voters’ cards was ongoing, while the contract for the remaining 33 million had been awarded.
Also fielding questions from reporters, the INEC Chairman, Prof. Attahiru Jega, said the registration of APC as a political party was a concluded issue, “as it is clear that the merging political parties met all the necessary requirements.
“We have carried out all the processes and taken the decision to register them. We believe and we are satisfied that what we did is right under the law”.
The INEC chairman said with the registration of APC, the new party could contest the Anambra State governorship election, in accordance with Section 84(6) of the Electoral Act, which requires 90 days to complete the exercise, adding that APC was registered within the stipulated time frame.
On the court order that restrained the commission from deregistering political parties, Jega said: “Though we have appealed the ruling of the Federal High Court on the deregistration of Fresh Democratic Party, the order of the Federal High Court brings to four such judgments on the deregistration of the political parties.
“Three of such judgments were in favour of INEC to deregister political parties, only the fourth judgment restrained INEC from doing so.
“So it is three out of four, but nonetheless INEC has appealed against the judgment. We are still right in the eyes of the jury.”
The INEC chairman explained that the forthcoming delineation of the constituencies would not affect the existing 109 senatorial districts or the 360 federal constituencies, but explained that it was necessary because it is a constitutional provision that the constituencies be delineated once every 10 years.
The INEC chairman explained that the forthcoming delineation of the constituencies would not affect the existing 109 senatorial districts or the 360 federal constituencies, but explained that it was necessary because it is a constitutional provision that the constituencies be delineated once every 10 years.
Jega said the last constituency delineation was done in 1996 and that the commission attempted delineating the constituencies in 2006, but explained that it was not successful.
The INEC chairman said the aim of the delineation of the constituencies was to correct the imbalance and inequalities in the distribution of constituencies observed in the last national population census.
According to him, “The delineation of constituencies is necessary in a representatives democracy, because of the disparities observed in the last census. There are remarkable disparities and inequalities,” observing that the commission would work with the National Boundary Commission (NBC) and the National Population Commission (NPC) on the delineation exercise.
He put the number of Nigerians with multiple registration at 871,000, but said the commission lacked the legal capacity to prosecute all electoral offenders, hence reiterating the call for the establishment of Electoral Offences Tribunals to handle such cases.
Jega, who said there was no confusion in the Anambra State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), explained that the commission recognised Ejike Oguebeogu as the authentic state chairman.
PDP last week had issued a statement recognising Ken Emeakayi as the state chairman, but Jega said: “On March 12, 2012, a state congress was conducted and INEC monitored it. We know who emerged as the state chairman and the records are there.
“Our legal units have not been served with any court processes, unless there is a clear cut order, only the candidate we recognise stands recognised and that is acceptable to INEC.”
Source: thisdaylive
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