The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC,
Attahiru Jega, has told Nigerian federal lawmakers he could not
guarantee the 2015 general elections will hold on rescheduled dates in
March and April.
At a meeting with Senators Wednesday, Mr. Jega
said he could not commit himself to the "sanctity" of March 28 and April
11 - dates for the rescheduled Nigeria’s general elections.
He said the electoral commission could not guarantee aspects of the poll that are beyond its control.
Mr. Jega met with the lawmakers to review the decision to postpone the polls from February.
Under
the Nigerian law, a further six-week extension of the elections is
possible, a prospect opposed by many Nigerians, the main opposition All
Progressives Congress, APC, and the international community.
INEC
had said the postponement were necessary for security reasons, as
military chiefs had warned against going on with the vote to allow it
focus on fighting the terror group, Boko Haram.
But the APC said
the delay was instigated by President Goodluck Jonathan, to save him and
ruling party from losing the elections to the APC candidate, Muhammadu
Buhari.
Since announcing the new dates nearly two weeks ago, the
commission has declined to clearly confirm that there will be no further
delay beyond March 28 and April 11, for presidential, National
Assembly, governorship and state assembly polls.
Responding to a
question by George Akume, Senate Minority Leader, on the sanctity of the
new dates, on Wednesday, Mr. Jega said it was difficult for him to
respond, saying he could only give assurances over aspects within the
control of INEC.
"That’s a very difficult question to answer. I
have said not everything that has to do with the conduct of successful
election is within the control of INEC", Mr. Jega said.
Mr. Jega also said the commission will go forward with its plan to deploy card readers for the elections.
There
have been some concerns, mainly from the ruling Peoples Democratic
Party, PDP, about the plan as Nigerian law prohibits electronic voting.
On Wednesday, while PDP Senators opposed the plan, their APC counterparts welcomed it.
Heineken
Lokpobri, a PDP Senator from Bayelsa State and Odion Ugbesa, from Edo
State, argued against the use of card readers for the elections, saying
it would be illegal.
In his response, Mr. Jega said card readers would only be used for accreditation not actual voting.
He said there was no law forbidding the use of electronic devices for accreditation.
"Card
reader is used for accreditation not voting. Voting his defined as
dropping of ballot paper into ballot box. Accreditation is essential for
integrity of the election", he said.
"Nothing in the
constitution says we should not use electronic device in the process of
accreditation. Anybody that is not satisfied can go to court. We have
solid ground on that", he said.
He added that the card readers would curb electoral malpractices, as cloned cards would be detected.
Mr. Jega said INEC will perform a mock test on the card readers.
He said some tests had already been taken in the United States, and will now be tested in the six geopolitical zones.
"The card reader has passed in all the 13 test categories conducted in terms of its durability and versatility", he said.
Mr. Jega said the postponement of the general elections will enable INEC to have a flawless, near-perfect elections.
INEC
National Commissioners are to visit state offices to conduct evaluation
and comprehensively determine the level of preparation in the election.
He
said after the visit, the commission will meet with the heads of
departments and directorates of units to conduct a comprehensive
assessment, to figure out additional things to be done before March 28.
Mr
Jega said a meeting with the inter-agency committee on security will
hold a meeting to discuss security on the Election Day, PREMIUM TIMES
reports.

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