By Sunny Anderson Osiebe...
The Deputy President of the
Senate, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, has charged the Constitution and Electoral
Reform Committee to help restore the
fast declining independence of the Independent National Electoral Commission,
INEC, in order to preserve the nation’s democracy.
He also suggested single term of office to reduce desperation and impunity by politicians as well as the conduct of party primaries by the INEC to reduce the life and death struggle by politicians for control of party machinery.
Ekweremadu stated this at the
retreat organised by the presidential Committee in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State on
Tuesday.
He expressed worries that “Nigeria
is sadly on the part of decline in its leadership role in Africa in almost all
sectors, including electoral system”.
The Senator who also chairs the
Senate Committee on Constitution Review, explained that the essence of the
amendments to Sections 81 and 156 of the 1999 Constitution by the National
Assembly in 2010 was to guarantee the financial autonomy and neutrality of
INEC, but lamented that the gains made from such provisions in the 2011 and
2015 general elections were being eroded.
He said: “The word ‘Independent’
in the name of our Election Management Body, INEC, is critical and must be
defended and preserved if our democracy must survive.
“The bible says that if salt loses
its saltiness, it becomes worthless and can only be thrown away. The word
‘Independent’ is the salt in our Election Management Body. All the past reforms
and the present efforts will be meaningless if we sit back and watch some
desperate politicians destroy the independence of our electoral umpire.
“The world is watching too. We
must ensure that INEC is retained to Independent National Electoral Commission
in name and practice, not just National Electoral Commission as it is presently
and dangerously drifting to. Inconclusiveness, postponement, cancellation, and
manipulation are dangerous signs on the road to 2019”.
He proposed a jail term without
option of fine for security agents as well as staff and ad-hoc staff of INEC,
whom he said currently “get away with brazen impunity and malpractices”.
“It is wrong for anybody to engage
in electoral malpractice, but it is even worse if guardians of the sanctity of
the ballot box become the desecrators of the process”, he emphasised.
The Deputy President of the Senate
also said that a single term of office was the way to go to reduce the
desperation of incumbents, which in turn defiles the electoral process and
endangers democracy.
“Much of the impunity, violence,
and malpractices that defile our electoral system are caused by desperation for
a second term of office; a single term of six years, for example, for incumbent
executives to conclude all their ‘good work’, will certainly reduce the weight
and influence they bring to bear on elections remotely or directly affecting them”
he said.
On how conduct of primaries by an
indpendent INEC could help reduce the power struggles in political parties and
ensure the popular candidates emerge, Ekweremadu explained: “This is the
practice in Ghana. It will reduce the competition amongst stakeholders to take
control of the party machinery. At the moment, it is almost a life and death
matter during the primaries of political parties”.
He said since the electoral laws
were amended in 2010 to end funding of political parties by INEC, hence such funds
should be channeled to financing conduct of party primaries by INEC.
Ekweremadu also canvassed the
amendment of Section 77 of the Constitution to allow diaspora voting, noting
that “Nigeria has a theming diaspora community, both in terms of number and
quality, and these people deserve to have a say in who governs their country,
especially given their contributions to national development”.
Other reforms he canvassed were
rotation of presidential and governorship seats among the geopolitical zones
and senatorial districts, respectively, possibly for a given period of time; compulsory
electronic voting; early primaries; conclusion of pre-election matters before
general election; and a hybrid of presidential and parliamentary system to
reduce cost of governance and improve synergy between the executive and
legislature.
He pledged the commitment of the
National Assembly to working with the presidential Committee to better the
nation’s democracy.
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